Iron Ranma
by StandandDeliver
Summary: What if instead of just training in Anything Goes, Ranma also trains in his family style under his grandfather? Well it may solve some problems but would sure create more!
1. Before the Journey

Chapter 1: Before the Journey

"Happy Birthday Ranma!"

"Thanks Grandpa."

"How's about you show me what my stupid son has taught you about the Art?"

"Ok Grandpa."

"Why don't you go to the dojo and get warmed up Ranma and let me speak to grandpa?"

"Ok pops. I'll begin warming up."

Genma sighs with exasperation, shakes his head and then looks up. "What are you doing father? I thought I told you that I will be teaching Ranma and there is no way you will be involved."

"He is my grandchild and the only hope left to continue the Saotome family style. I will not let you corrupt the heir to our style with that old pervert's teachings just because you couldn't learn our style."

SMASH.

"WHAT IN THE WORLD!"

"FATHER IN LAW, GENMA COME QUICK."

"COMING NO-CHAN"

Running as fast as possible both Genma and Grandpa Genryu reach the Saotome dojo. Looking in the dojo, Genma just freezes blocking Genryu's path. "Out of my way!" Genma falls to the floor and Genryu lands in the dojo after launching a powerful side kick to see Ranma's hand glowing in a soft blue light. Genryu's face shifts from shock to surprise to sheer joy. "At last an heir to the Saotome style."

"Grandpa? What is going on? Why is my hand glowing? What is this funny feeling? What …."

"Calm down Ranma. It is nothing to worry about. Your true power has just released. It's completely normal."

SHIIIIING. "Nothing to worry about? MY SON'S HAND IS GLOWING LIKE A CHRISTMAS LIGHT AND YOU SAY THERE IS NOTHING TO WORRY ABOUT LIKE IT HAPPENS EVERY DAY?" Turning around Genryu looks into the icy cold eyes of an angry Nodoka and just smirks. "Well not to any ordinary kids but if a Saotome is capable of learning the Saotome style, then they usually display their ability to do so during their younger years.". 'Though the fact that he revealed it at just 5 years old? He must have an incredibly strong affinity to our style' thought Genryu. "This is normal?"

"Yes Nodoka this is normal. In fact the only thing that can be considered abnormal about this situation is how early he demonstrated his ability. Most children in our family display the trait when they're 10. The youngest we have ever had in our family is 7 but at 5 means Ranma must have incredible potential. Especially since only his hand is glowing."

"But father the revelation is an acute full body aura being produced unconsciously."

"Normally so Genma but his revelation is much better since he has mimicked our family's Iron Palm strike."

Back in the living room, "Genma" putting down the tea cup, Genryu sighs. "Since Ranma is now the only person alive who can inherit our family style, I cannot let you teach him the Anything Goes School. Instead I will be training him myself to inherit our style."

Putting down his own tea cup, "With all due respect father since I have been refused the right of learning this style, I am unwilling to let you teach it to Ranma. At least unless you agree to teach it to me.". Smirking; Genma picks up his tea cup and takes a slow sip. 'The old man will have to teach me that form now and I'll finally be able to inherit the Saotome lands'. Roused from his thoughts Genma looks at Genryu who just sighs in disappointment. "Genma you will never be able to learn this style. You of all people should know how weak your control over Ki really is. If you had even a slight amount of talent I would be more than willing to teach you but the style cannot be controlled by you without killing you. Besides as the Head to the Saotome Clan, it is my decision as to whether or not I train Ranma not yours."

Genma opens his mouth to argue but is immediately stopped by a small cough. "If I may Father in Law, shouldn't Ranma be the one to decide which style he gets to choose? It only seems fair since he will be the practitioner."

"Your point is valid Nodoka. Ranma is the practitioner so he should get the final vote."

Seconds later

Sitting in the centre of the dojo, Ranma faces his parents and grandfather sitting in a meditative yoga position. Looking at the tense faces of his father and grandfather, Ranma gets worried. Deciding to break the tension, Nodoka starts the meeting. "Ranma, your father and grandfather both came to the decision that they want to train you. However they are unsure which style you will be trained in. You are the heir to both the Saotome school of Anything Goes martial arts and also the Saotome Iron Dragon Form. It is your decision as to which one you choose. The style you choose will be the one you will be taught.". Looking at all three, Ranma pauses for a second before saying "So any style I choose I can learn it?"

"Yes son."

"I choose both. Can I mommy, please can I, can I?"

Giggling, Nodoka immediately interrupts the ensuing argument between Genma and Genryu. "Surely that isn't a problem is it? Genma the motto of anything goes is to win by any means and incorporating any style so you've told me. Correct?". Hmph. Sighing, "Yes No-Chan you're right."

"And Father in Law, surely by doing this, Ranma can inherit the Saotome family style and continue it from now on."

"I suppose so Nodoka. Alright I will teach with Genma on his training trip. However I will need to pack some gear for his training. Give me a few hours and I'll be back with everything we need.". Getting up, Genryu walks to the door, stops and looks at Nodoka. "Please make sure my son doesn't make a mistake and take Ranma before I get here."

"Don't worry Father in Law. I'll keep him in line."

Sighing in relief, Genryu immediately leaves the house.

2 Hours Later

"Ready to go Ranma?"

"Yes Grandpa. But can I ask you a question?"

"Sure! Ask away!"

"What is this thingy?"

"This is a muscle trainer. It makes it harder for you to move so you need to put more effort when moving. It allows you to do strength training at all times."

"What is that?"

"Strength training. We are building your endurance and power. After this training you should be able to last longer and hit harder than anyone else." Replies Genma in an irritated tone. Quickly hefting a pack, Genma begins to walk out. Ranma does the same but before he can move, Genryu interrupts. "Ranma, Genma, can I see your bags?"

"What for Father in Law?"

"Just humour me Nodoka. Pass me your bag Ranma.". Opening the bags, Genryu is immediately outraged to see that Genma's bag is only filled with his clothes whereas most of his and Ranma's camping equipment is in Ranma's pack. Shocked, Nodoka looks completely out of it whilst Genryu looks at Genma with a look of pure disgust. "And you wonder why I say you weren't worthy to carry the legacy of our style."

"Genma, how could you?"

"No-Chan …"

"Don't bother Genma. Take your own camping equipment in your own bag." Genryu replies scathingly.

"This is training for the boy. Father you are going to make my boy soft doing this."

"Is that so Genma, Then don't bother but you will be carrying my gear as well as the gear you are carrying. Of course as the master of both you and my grandson, I should make sure you don't go soft either.". Audibly gulping, Genma immediately starts taking all his gear from Ranma's pack and putting it in his own. Once done, Genma quickly states that the muscle suit should prevent him from going too soft. "In any case let's go. Look after yourself Nodoka. If you need anything, you should get it by just calling my wife."

"There is no need Father in Law. I am still a member of the Himura Clan and I'm sure my mother will be able to help."

"In any case we'll need to leave soon. Goodbye No-Chan."

"I will see you after this trip. Look after him husband and make sure he is educated."

"No-Chan a real man only needs to know how to fight and …"

SHIIING. "Will you like to repeat that husband?". Sensing a powerful burst of Ki, Genma turns around to see his father's hand in a Ki enhanced knife hand strike pointed at his neck. "Yes Genma. Would you repeat that?"

"D D D Don't worry F F Father. H H He will l learn ever thing he needs.". Satisfied by the reaction, Genryu and Nodoka relax. Nodoka then turns to face Genryu and asks him to ensure Ranma becomes a 'man among men'. Accepting, the group departs with Genryu and Ranma walking on a chain link fence and Genma walking on the road muttering angrily under his breath.


	2. The Beginning of Training

Chapter 2: The beginning of training

Sitting around the campfire, Ranma looks into the fire watching his dad cooking dinner. Genryu drops down next to Ranma and turns towards him. Turning away from the fire, Ranma looks into Genryu's eyes. "Ranma, could you try to repeat what you did in the dojo yesterday?". Thinking for a moment Ranma concentrates hard around his hand. Noticing nothing happening Ranma turns back to Genryu and replies "I don't know how I did it! How do I do it?". Sighing, Genryu looks closely at Ranma and his eyes go from blue to silver for a second. Looking closely, Genryu confident that Ranma can repeat his previous attempt immediately reverts back to his original eye colour before replying to Ranma's question. "Just follow my instructions. First sit up straight with your shoulders relaxed.". Adjusting a little, Ranma sits upright before asking "Like this?"

" Yes. Now imagine a ball of energy just above your stomach. Do you feel it?"

"I feel something. What is it?"

"That is your Ki. Now imagine your Ki moving from that ball into your hand. Once it has reached, imagine it covering your hand.". Immediately Genma and Genryu look at Ranma noticing his hand glowing again with that same soft blue light. "Open your eyes Ranma.". Slowly, Ranma opens his eyes and notices his hand glowing. Immediately he jumps up and down in joy, the light immediately fading away. "Impressive Ranma. You clearly have the ability to gain control over the Saotome family style."

"Grandpa, what is the family style?"

"Hmmmm, well our family style is called the Iron Dragon Form. It is an incredibly powerful style that greatly enhances the user's speed and strength to maybe twice or thrice the power of the user. It uses the Ki of the user to enhance their physical power. In the case of the move you just used, the Iron Palm, you enhanced the breaking power and the hardness of your palm to make it easier to break what is in your path without feeling pain."

"How long will I need to train to control this power?"

"Normally a person becomes a master in 20 or so years but due to your amazing learning curve and natural affinity, I expect you to master the style in maybe 12 years or so. Now let's go to sleep."

"Your Grandfather is right you know Ranma. We need to wake up early so we can start your training."

"Ok! Goodnight Pops."

4 Years Later

"D D D Daddy, P P Please don't t t throw me in there a a again. T They hurt m me. P P Please! I I don't w w want to learn t t thi techni ni nique."

"Don't be silly boy. A real man isn't afraid of anything. You need to get over your stupid fear.". Walking whilst carrying a sobbing, bloody Ranma; Genma walks over to a pit and throws Ranma into it. Once Ranma is in the pit, Genma closes the trapdoor to prevent Ranma from getting out.

Meanwhile on the other side, 'I hope I'm not too late. If only I sensed this trouble earlier. Honestly what is Genma thinking? What kind of training could he be doing that he needed to run away from me when I went to my friend's house? If only I tracked him sooner.'

#Flashback#

Ranma, Genma and Genryu walked along the road towards a large house. "What are we doing here father?"

"I'm here to speak to an old friend of mine about a few more books for Ranma's learning. I've learnt that Ranma has a photographic memory so can use it to learn from books really easily. I just wanted to get some more books he could learn from, especially some of his school subjects. He needs to continue his schooling."

"A true martial artist has no need for education. All they need is …."

"You are a fool Genma for thinking that. Your son needs an education as well as training. My friend is a master of shiatsu so his books could be extremely beneficial to Ranma, especially his biology books. He has a daughter in college at the moment and he said I could borrow the books to teach Ranma.". After walking for another five minutes, the trio reach a large cast iron gate. Genryu tells Genma to stay here with Ranma while he collects the books. Walking towards the door, Genryu knocks. Seconds later an elderly man opens the door and immediately greets Genryu in a hug. "Greetings Urahara-Sama. I am here about those books you were going to give to me."

"Genryu my friend I have them with me. I was wondering though which college your grandson is going to that he needs such advanced text."

"Actually he isn't going to college. He is being home schooled so I though this text would be particularly useful to him."

"Genryu surely he should be in school if he needs this text. At his age he should be with teachers with degrees in these fields."

"Well Urahara-Sama, I'm sure my grandson won't need them at least until high school."

"Wait a minute. How old is your grandson?"

"He turned nine last august … "

"He's nine and studying such advanced text? That's amazing. How?"

"He has photographic memory. He has used it to learn whatever he needed for his schooling. In fact this is just additional learning for shiatsu."

"I'm envious about your grandson. A martial artist with such extensive knowledge and only 9! Well I must get back to work. Good luck old friend."

"And to you old friend.". The door closes and Genryu turns around to see that Genma has run off with Ranma. "GENMA!"

#End Flashback#

'It took too long to track them. I hope I can make it in time.'. Genryu immediately moves with greater resolve to try and reach in time.

Meanwhile

"YEOWL".

"Ranma? Did you learn the technique? Ranma?". BOOOOOM. A large geyser of cats soon erupted from the pit with a red and black flash immediately moving out. Stopping in front of Genma, the flash immediately reveals itself to be a bloodied Ranma. "Ranma?" Genma asks weakly. "What have I done? Oh my son!". YEOWL. Immediately Ranma jumps and shreds Genma's gi and leaves him with large slashes. Sniffing around, Ranma senses the aura of a familiar person and immediately starts to move towards them. Genryu immediately senses the change in aura. Recognising what has happened, Genryu immediately activates his own neko-ken and starts bounding forward with immense speed finally intercepting Ranma mid-air and pulling him into a hug. Calming down, Ranma falls asleep in Genryu's arms. 'Thank god you're ok. I can't believe my stupid son put you through that.' A snore pulling Genryu out of his thoughts. Genryu smiles before taking Ranma back to the camp he and Genma set up. After putting Ranma in a sleeping bag, he immediately looks at a heavily bandaged Genma before angrily saying "I would have punished you but considering Ranma already did, there is no point in me doing it especially considering what he will do to you soon."

"Grandfather?"

"Ranma.' A snore pulling Genryu out of his thoughts. Genryu smiles before taking Ranma back to the camp he and Genma set up. After putting Ranma in a sleeping bag, he immediately looks at a heavily bandaged Genma before angrily saying "I would have punished you but considering Ranma already did, there is no point in me doing it especially considering what he will do to you soon."

"Grandfather?"

"Ranma! You're awake! Thank Kami you're ok."

"Please Grandfather don't throw me in there again.". Quickly grabbing Ranma into a quick hug, Genryu immediately makes soothing noises and rubs the back of his crying grandson. "It's ok Ranma. You don't need to go back."

"Really?"

"Yes Really."

A few minutes later

"Ranma?"

"Yes Grandfather?"

"I didn't want to teach you the neko-ken but since you have been subjected to the training, I must finish it."

"Please don't throw me back in. You promised you …"

"I don't need to throw you in there. The pit was the first and hardest step for the practitioner. The manual your dad has is incomplete. The neko-ken is actually one of the advanced techniques of the Iron Dragon Form. However due to its risks, it was decided that I would be the last practitioner and the technique scrolls would be sealed. However your father decided to teach you a different version of the neko-ken to try and make his branch of anything goes stronger. However his version is incomplete. You have gained the neko-ken state but now I will help you control it."

"How?"

"You will meditate and find your centre. Once reached, I will draw out the neko-ken in your mind. You must confront it and defeat it. Once you beat it you will gain control. Are you ready?"

"Yes!"

Sitting in the half lotus position, Ranma closes his eyes and immediately feels two fingers on his forehead and two on his chest. Immediately he is pulled into his subconscious.

Two Hours later

"Grandfather?"

"Ranma you're awake! How are you feeling?"

"Better grandfather.". Seeing his injuries, Ranma immediately floods his Ki to his body and starts to heal his injuries. O few seconds later, all of the cuts are gone and no scars remain. Impressed, Genryu looks up once again to Ranma. "Ranma? I must check whether the training was successful. Are you ready?"

"Sure grandfather. What do I need to do?"

"Just tell me how you feel when you see THIS!". Pulling out a tabby cat, Genryu looks carefully at Ranma. Noticing no change in his aura, Genryu sighs in relief. "It seems your sanity has been restored. However now we must see if you have control over the neko-ken. Let's see if you can access it."

"How do I do that?"

"Just concentrate on drawing out your neko-ken. Think about how you feel when you are in the neko-ken and try to experience those same feelings.". Sitting still, the wind starts to rustle causing leaves to sway. Suddenly Ranma is surrounded by a white and black aura so powerful that it forces Genryu back and causes a recently arrived Genma to hide behind a tree in fear. Ranma just gets up and opens his now golden eyes. Looking down on his body, he realises that his aura is not its normal colour. Surprised, he looks to Genryu for an explanation. However he just chuckles. After a few seconds, Genryu looks back at a rather bemused Ranma. "Sorry about that Ranma. It's just quite funny to see that you happen to have the rarest neko-ken aura to ever exist especially considering your prodigious ability.". Confused, Genryu elaborates. "Ranma, you have a neko-ken aura resembling a White Bengal Tiger. This particular aura has only been seen twice before in neko-ken masters and the fact you possess this aura makes you one of the most powerful neko-ken users in the world."

"But will my aura always look like this?"

"Yes Ranma. However look at the bright side. At least you possess the most powerful neko-ken in history. Now that you have attained this level, I will teach you the rest of the Iron Dragon Form's greatest techniques."

"HELL YEAH!"


	3. The Saotome Temple and the Iron Fist

Chapter 3: The Saotome Temple and the Iron Fist

"KYAH". SNAP. THUD. "Whew. How was that grandpa?"

"Good shot Ranma. Although I cannot fault you for hitting my son, I do have to ask why so hard!"

"The stupid fool kept going on about how learning is useless for a martial artist."

"IT IS BOY!"

"Oh SHUT UP YOU STUPID OLD BAKA! YOU DON'T HAVE ANY SAY IN MY EDUCATION. I bet you think if I'm stupid then you can freeload off me for the rest of your life."

"Uhmmm, Ughhh…"

"Is this true?" asked Genryu with barely controlled anger. Visibly gulping, Genma looks at his father and son, both of their auras flaring brightly with serious intensity. "Saotome School of Anything Goes Martial Arts Crouch of the Wild Tiger.". Immediately prostrating himself, Genma starts another one of his annoyingly common sorry fests. "Sorrysorrysorrysorrysorrysorry….". Sighing, Ranma turns around to look at Genryu. "I swear I don't know how bad my life would have been if you weren't here to stop him. Baka Oyaji!"

"Well at least be happy that you didn't get engaged to that Kuonji girl. That would have given you problems."

"Yeah! I can't believe that I didn't realise she was a girl. At least now I only have to deal with one fiancé. Hey grandpa, what's she like?"

"You know Ranma, I don't know but I hope for Genma's sake that she is worthy of you. You have truly come far Ranma, and now is the time to formalise your mastery of the Saotome Iron Dragon form."

"So how do we formalise my mastery?"

Turning west "It's time to go to the Saotome temple."

5 days later

Standing in the middle of a clearing, Ranma and Genma look in awe at a massive ornate wooden gate standing tall and barring the path from unworthy travellers. Ranma was particularly jumpy since Genryu refused to explain the procedure of formal acceptance to him. Said person was at the moment meditating in a circle; a technique called astral projection Ranma noted. _A particularly good technique for communication with people from far away; the technique was quite difficult as well as notoriously dangerous for the user since it relied on others to ensure the user's safety during the use of the technique. It was probably for this reason that most of the masters were favouring getting cell phones _Ranma mused. Slowly opening his eyes, Genryu stood up. Ranma coolly regarded his grandfather, _master_ so he liked to be thought of as. _Yeah right. As if I would ever call him that now_ Ranma thought suppressing a snicker. "It isn't funny to insult an old man's skills in your head you know." Replied Genryu also suppressing a snicker. _Damn. I thought I prepared for mental intrusion. Must be slipping _thought Ranma, mentally berating himself for letting his grandfather realise what he was thinking. "Don't worry Ranma. I actually have to agree with you that you have surpassed me. By how much remains to be answered but I'm pretty sure that you could become a grandmaster in a few more months."

"How? It took me 6 years to become a master so how would it take so little time to become a grandmaster?" questioned Ranma with considerable shock at the situation. "It's not like there is a time travel technique you know of that can help here is there?"

Walking forward, Genryu immediately hits Ranma over the head with his fist. "Whatcha do that for?" rubbing his head muttering curses about senile old masters. "Language Ranma. I don't need my heir to speak like that idiot over there." pointing at the still frozen Genma. "And to answer your earlier question to become a grandmaster you must attain the highest level of our form."

"So all I need to do is learn one more move? No sweat. I'll have it down in one, make that two days tops.". Chuckling, Genryu walks over to the gate with Ranma following behind. "Will you do the honours Ranma?"

"With pleasure grandpa!". Charging as much Ki into his body as possible, Ranma activates his Iron Body and with a single finger forced the door open with a slight touch. This apparently too much for Genma to handle causes the overweight martial artist to keel over. "Son; I'm taking Ranma to the temple. You are not going to be joining us. I will be training Ranma for one year but after this you will continue his training on your own.". Turning to Ranma, Genryu and Ranma walk towards the gate and once inside, Ranma closes the gate leaving a comatose Genma to his own devices. Turning around to see Genryu already half way to the mountain, Ranma starts running using his Iron Body to catch up. "I see you made it boy.". Barely affected by the running, Ranma simply shrugs and looks around. "How do we climb up? I don't see any stairs. Would we have to go around?"

"Stairs are for the weak of heart boy. To enter the temple one must fly like dragon. Like so. ALLEYOOP!". Immediately using his own Iron Body, Genryu jumps scaling the mountain in just two bounds. Not one for being outdone, Ranma pumps as much Ki as possible into his currently active Iron Body and scales the mountain in a single leap. However a miscalculation leads to him flying a few dozen metres higher than intended leading to the most spectacularly breath-taking view. In front of him was a large wooden arch guarding a beautiful pagoda, under which was a roaring flame. To the left of the pagoda was what could only be described as a barracks where Ranma assumed they would be sleeping. Just behind the pagoda was a sakura tree with its pink blossoms fluttering in the wind giving this place a surreal appearance. As Ranma begins his descent he notices the sound of a waterfall to his right. Suddenly he is yanked out of the air by an irate Genryu. "Quit hanging around boy. We don't have all day."

"Ok, Ok! Yeesh!" replied Ranma clearly annoyed by his view being interrupted. "Once we have finished your induction, you can do all the sightseeing you want."

"So how do I get inducted grandpa?". Looking down, Ranma could almost swear that the flame had grown slightly bigger and more appealing. "Simple boy. Thrust your hand in the fire and …"

"ARE YOU CRAZY? Why on earth would I stick my hand in open flames?"

"Listen to me boy it is the only way for you to be inducted.". Landing on the ground just outside the pagoda, Genryu quickly explains the situation. "The fire is there to purify and judge your worth. You see the Saotome family style is actually one of 12 styles which form the Iron Zodiac. The grandmaster is the inheritor of the sacred Iron Fist which we have guarded for several generations. To use the style though, one must prove themselves worthy by displaying that they possess the 'Heart of Iron'. Do you know what that is?"

"Yes. It was the concept from which the code of Bushido was formed was it not?" asked Ranma; quietly trying to process all the information he just received in this bombshell of a situation. "Correct Ranma. To possess the Heart of Iron is to possess Bushido, but above all else it is to accept one's mortality as a given and be willing to risk their life for the sake of the art. You will be pleasantly survived if you pass."

"But if I fail?"

"Then you will perish!". Looking at Ranma with a little worry, Genryu questions the sensibility of bringing a 10, nearly 11 years old boy to the temple when the risks were so high. _How could I expect him to do this when he hasn't even become a man yet? Maybe I should postpone this … _immediately interrupted from his train of thought by a moving Ranma, Genryu is amazed when Ranma simply sticks his hand straight into the fire. _Nothing! _Thought Ranma as he plunged himself into the flame. _Maybe I missed the flames. No wait, I'm confident I stepped in them. So what happened? _Slowly opening his eyes, Ranma is shocked to see his body surrounded by a pillar of brilliantly white light. "What the!" mumbled Ranma unintelligibly. Looking down, Ranma notices that his entire body is unscathed and on his wrists are a pair of golden bracers. Suddenly the light dies down and he steps out of the flames. Genryu remains speechless until Ranma's stomach grumbles loudly. Suddenly he facefaults whilst Ranma starts laughing.

A few minutes later

"Grandpa? What's the matter? Grandpa? GRANDPA!"

"Nothing boy. I just never expected such an aura."

"What do you mean grandpa? Is everything alright? Am I now a master?". Seeing Ranma's concern, Genryu starts to chuckle. At Ranma's annoyance, this turns into full blown laughter. Sensing Ranma's aura coming out though, Genryu immediately controls himself to tell Ranma the good news. "You were deemed the new grandmaster of the school. As such you must now learn the other 11 styles of the Iron Zodiac. Once you have done so; I will teach you the Iron Fist."

"How would you know? From what I heard I would have to learn from the previous grandmaster.". A tick mark appearing on Genryu's forehead, he immediately closes in on Ranma's guard and launches a punch. Ranma quickly catches the punch and goes into a leg sweep. Seeing the sweep, Genryu jumps up and then lands behind Ranma immediately bopping him on the head. "You fool, I was the old grandmaster.". Smirking, Ranma replies "Was being the operative word here."

"Why you!". Suddenly both grandfather and grandson burst into laughter. Once the laughter dies down, Genryu looks at Ranma with steel in his eyes. "Ready to train boy?"

"I was born ready!". Immediately the two grandmasters walk towards the back of the pagoda in the direction of the waterfall. Bowing at the shrine, they walk along a rope bridge set above the waterfall towards the next temple on their way.


	4. To Save a Life

Chapter 4: To Save a Life

Walking along a rather busy street, a young man of sixteen years walks down wearing a black training gi. This being Nerima, it wasn't an unusual sight to see martial artists walking along. However this martial artist was drawing quite a bit of attention, especially from the ladies. His long black hair, jet black except for a red fringe on the right side of his face, was tied in a pigtail that fell just above his well-built shoulders. His gi, loose from the front, gave a clear sight of his washboard abs and well defined pectorals. His face was chiselled yet retained a sense of childlike joy that was almost infectious. However his sombre mood, flecking his deep blue eyes with regret, almost made all the women rush up to him and console him. The reason for his currently sour disposition was an overweight bald man wearing wire rim spectacles and a once white, but now stained to the point of no return, gi running behind him and arguing. "STOP PESTERING ME POP. We are going to mom's house first and that's final."

"No son we have to first meet my good friend Tendo. He trained with me under my master and lives right here in Nerima.". _I can't let Nodoka see me. She'll kill me for taking Ranma to someplace where he could have been cursed. It wouldn't matter to her that he's immune but she'd kill me! _Thought Genma. "Well maybe if you had given me the guide book or let me speak to the guide when we were there, you wouldn't be in this mess."

"BOY I …". Suddenly a car whizzes past them moving out of control. _Towards … THOSE KIDS. I GOTTA SAVE THEM! _Thought Ranma as he ran towards them pumping as much Ki as he could in his legs. Blurring and appearing just in front of the kids, Ranma draws all the elemental Ki from his surroundings into his right hand causing a golden glow to envelop his fist. "IRON FIST!" he cries and launches himself towards the car and in one perfectly timed punch completely negates the momentum of the car. The car, on its part, immediately stops and lands on its wheels. Eyes swapping from blue to silver, Ranma surveys the car looking for structural weak points. Satisfied with the information he gleamed, Ranma uses his Iron Fist to rip the door off the car and pulls out a young teenage couple. "Call an ambulance!" shouted one man in the crowd.

"Move them off the road!" shouted a young girl this time.

Taking no heed as to what they are saying, Ranma immediately presses a few shiatsu points on both victims in an effort to staunch the bleeding. Once the bleeding has stopped, Ranma quickly and methodically pulls out all the glass fragments in their wounds before using a Ki enhanced swipe to push off any glass dust. Once done, Ranma draws all his Ki into his hands and immediately forced it into the young couple. The crowd for their part remains silent, shocked by the rapidly recovering forms of these two badly injured individuals. Watching this young man who seems to defy all natural laws, the crowd simply looks on the faces of these young children. After what seems like an eternity, the young man falls on his knees and lightly taps the young couple awake. A little groggy, the couple reluctantly get up on their feet to the sound of an ecstatic crowd. Immediately Ranma is picked up by the group and thanked for his efforts and for saving this couple. Many of the young girls quickly attempt to slip their numbers in his gi. Suddenly Genma walks up to the crowd saying "Very sloppy Ranma. You should have been prepared for tha …" and is immediately silenced by the crowd unceremoniously walking over him. _Can things get any worse?_ Genma thought as he attempted to get up suddenly to be stopped by a light shower turning him into a panda. Lifting a sign, he quickly writes "Yes it can!" before he is hit by a newspaper blown by the wind.

Ranma on the other hand is completely unaffected by the rain and is soon put down. Once down and after some hearty congratulations, a round of thanks and some offers of dates (which Ranma politely declines), Ranma immediately goes up to the couple and gives them a cursory glance before saying "Next time you kiss in the car, make sure the parking brake is on!" before giving the pair a smirk. "Wait!" called the girl. "You just saved our lives. We can't let you go without thanking you. Please let us know how we can help.". Thinking for a second, Ranma looks over to the pair and to the crowd who have all gathered to hear what this young man would like. "Well really I'd like two things."

"Anything. Just name it."

"Well directions to the nearest Buffet restaurant would be nice. And perhaps the address of Nodoka Saotome.". The crowd remains speechless. Thoughts of _after what he went through this is all he wants _and _there's a man I could fall in love in_ and _if only I could find someone like him for my daughter_ went through the minds of all the people. Equally shocked are the young couple who just stare at Ranma as if he was a god. "What!" he replies causing massive facefaults. Quick to recover, the young lady Ranma saved immediately accepts and leads Ranma to a restaurant called the Green Pepper. Having never eaten at a place like this, Ranma is surprised to see all the little kids chasing a young man in a chili pepper costume. "What is this place?"

"Have you never eaten here? They have been opening up in Tokyo like wildfire over the past few years."

"Well that would explain it. I haven't been in Japan for over 2 years now.". Ranma looks around once again and asks to the young woman "Is this some sort of cosplay café or something?". Laughing at the comment, the young woman replies "No. This is an American chain of restaurants. They have some weird ideas for attracting customers and one of them is to dress people like giant chillies.". "Well I never thought people would actually think this as sensible but then again who am I to judge considering my baka ojayi.".

Immediately moving to a booth, the woman immediately introduces herself as Yoshi Ono and the man as Akio. Ranma introduces himself but before they can speak, a waitress in a sombrero outfit comes over and asks for their order. Yoshi and Akio order the couples sharing platter whilst Ranma gets a ticket for the all you can eat buffet. The next hour is a flurry of activity as Ranma goes through 16 plates of food like a starving man. Yoshi and Akio simply stare at him as he finishes the meal before Yoshi goes "Damn! How can you eat like that and still stay so thin?". Seeing the other people leaning in to hear the secret, Ranma quickly divulges that he has a resting burn rate of 13000 calories which means he needs to eat vast quantities of food. Yoshi simply looks at him with envy whilst Akio looks in awe. "You know most girls would kill for a metabolism like yours." States Yoshi with no small amount of resentment. Seeing this, Ranma quickly states that he can boost her metabolism if she wants but the process of doing so will only give her a resting burn of maybe 600 calories or so more. Immediately feeling cheerier, Yoshi agrees and Ranma walks around suddenly tapping six points down her neck and one on her arm. Suddenly Yoshi's stomach grumbles which causes many of the women and teenage girls to look in shock. Feeling self-conscious, Yoshi quickly asks what's wrong to which Ranma replies laughing, "I know most girls don't like to show when they're hungry but it seems I made a slight mistake. You need maybe an extra 1500 calories per day than before."

"Really?"

"Yes. I should have warned you though that the hunger would be felt immediately. As for maintaining that metabolism, I suggest eating a little more protein and that metabolism should hold.".


	5. Hi I'm Akane

Chapter 5: Hi I'm Akane

After finishing lunch, Ranma, Yoshi and Akio literally run away from the restaurant after paying to avoid the big horde of girls trying to get Ranma to do whatever he did to Yoshi. After running for around 5 minutes at breakneck speeds (for most people), Ranma immediately lets go of Yoshi's and Akio's hands. After panting for a few seconds "Wow man. You ran nearly 20K in five minutes and you're not even winded!" Akio asks incredulously. "Well I could go faster but I don't normally carry more than 20kg with me when running.". Yoshi however covers for Ranma by stating that her brother can do similar feats of strength and speed but compared to him, Ranma's on a different level.

After another 10 minutes of walking, the trio arrive at the Ono clinic. Ranma immediately starts to question the situation but before he can say anything Yoshi says "We are here to check some records to see if Auntie Nodoka moved."

"Auntie Nodoka?"

"Yes. She's a regular visitor here. She helps me with getting any ingredients for dinner and we help her by being her family physician."

"I see. Lead the way!" Ranma states waving his hand to the door causing Yoshi to blush a little by his gentlemanly attitude. Stepping into a small but neat clinic, Ranma notes that this Dr Tofu must like a quiet life, especially by the looks of some of the awards on his shelf. Immediately taking another glance, Ranma notices a heavily masked, but not quite hidden, aura stalking towards him. Silently activating his Iron Body, Ranma turns around to intercept shocking Akio with a display of speed and precision leading to both martial artists moving away. _Tai Chi. Shiatsu expert as well. Incredibly fast and experienced but in terms of speed I have him beat. _Similarly, Tofu's thoughts are also focused on assessing this opponent. _He's good. But for every point he struck, I hit 2 in vital spots. He must be extremely good. He must also be aura sensitive to a fault to be capable of detecting my aura once I hid it. _"You are good Ono-san but I was ready when I sensed your aura. Had you have concealed it a bit more, I probably would have lost to you at the beginning."

"Thank you but you are clearly good as well. May I ask for your name?"

"Why sure it's … "

"Ranma?" Yoshi called.

"Yes Yoshi?"

"I found it. She lives in the west side of Nerima about 5 blocks away from here."

"Thanks Yoshi."

Hearing this byplay, Dr Tofu immediately interrupts saying "And why were you giving classified information to this young man?". Shocked stiff by the stern tone in her brother's voice, Yoshi turns to face him and is about to speak before Ranma replies "I am looking for my mother who happens to live in Nerima. Her name is Nodoka Saotome. Yoshi said she could check as to whether or not the address changed in the last 11 years or so."

"Oh. That's ok but since when have you and Yoshi been friends? I'm pretty sure that Auntie Nodoka said to me that you were on a training journey."

"Bro! Ranma saved my life. Me and Akio were in a car crash and were about to bleed to death before Ranma healed us.". Blinking in surprise, Tofu looked at both parties before saying "How?". Rubbing the back of his head, Ranma gives a nervous laugh before beginning his explanation of the technique. "So let me get this straight." Tofu takes a sip from his cup of tea before looking at the rather shy Ranma. "You drew your Ki towards your hands and forced it into Yoshi and Akio forcing them to heal?"

"That pretty much sums it up.". Ranma looks at the group to see one incredulous Tofu and the confused faces of Yoshi and Akio. "What!". Tofu immediately facefaults causing Yoshi and Akio to sweat-drop. "Honestly that man. It's a wonder he's a doctor with that head on his shoulders." replied an exasperated Yoshi. "Is he going to be alright Yoshi?"

"It's fine Ranma. Honestly my brother can be so serious one minute before turning into a fool the next. I swear the number of times he flips out around Kasumi he …". Immediately Tofu jumps up at the word Kasumi. Shaking his head around frantically; his eyes sweep the room before he calms down. Looking straight at Ranma, he walks forward with a purpose before bowing at a rather stunned Ranma. "Please teach me this method of healing Sensei. I am a humble student willing to learn. Please take this as an offering.". Immediately Tofu starts to hand several awards to an unwilling Ranma before a bemused Yoshi puts a stop to it. "Get a grip bro. You're scaring the poor guy."

"But Yoshi?" Tofu pleaded.

"It's quite alright Tofu-san. I do not need any of these offerings. I am certainly not your sensei since I have far too much to learn. As for the technique, I am fine teaching it to you but you must promise to gauge how much Ki you use during its use. The technique carries the risk of killing the user if done for too long by an inexperienced practitioner.". Tofu stares yet again at Ranma before pulling himself together and thanking Ranma. Ranma for his part simply looks at Tofu before sitting in a half-lotus meditative position, beckoning Tofu to do the same. Sighing, Ranma starts instructing. "The first thing you need to do is to draw your Ki from your upper stomach to your hands."

"Ranma, shouldn't you explain to him how to find his Ki?"

"It's quite alright Yoshi. Ranma has simply noticed that I already exert control over my Ki. His Ki sight is incredibly sensitive so he could tell when I was masking my presence."

"Yes Yoshi-chan. I knew his level of expertise when he launched his first move.". Looking back at the pig-tailed boy, Yoshi looks at Ranma with an impressed expression. "You make a good sensei Ranma. But Yoshi-chan?"

"I thought we were friends." Ranma replied, his face covered with a playful grin. "You!". Yoshi playfully swats Ranma's arm, followed by Ranma feigning injury. "Are you sure you don't do martial arts as well?" Ranma teased.

"I teach self-defence you know." Yoshi teased back.

"So I guess this means I can't tease you right?" Ranma asks. Tofu barely suppressing a snicker immediately intervenes. "Ranma, Yoshi; please don't tease Akio like that. I don't think he could take it.". Looking at him, Ranma notices the pained expression on Akio's face before Yoshi quickly walks over and sits on his lap. "Well that's annoying. After all the pranks, when I finally pull one off, I'm the bad guy!" teased Yoshi. "Maybe I should just go and …". Immediately stopped by a kiss, Tofu and Ranma look at each other before deciding to leave the couple to themselves. Walking out of the room, Tofu looks at Ranma before asking "I know you must be busy but I would really appreciate a practical demonstration of your technique. Would you please show me?". Sighing, Ranma agrees. "I'll do it but I'm quite tired at the moment so only if it's minor."

"Thank you Ranma. I think it will be really benefic…"

"Hello Dr Tofu. Are you there? Hi there doctor. Could you … Oh sorry. I didn't know you were busy.". Both martial artists turn to the door to see a young 16 year old girl. The girl was quite pretty, beautiful even but carried an air of purpose. From her gait, Ranma could tell she practised a martial art yet her hands looked soft and untouched. Ranma was immediately snapped out of his assessment of the girl by the sound of Tofu's greeting. "Hello Akane. I'm sorry we didn't see you there. What seems to be the problem?". Akane was about to start before Ranma quickly gives her a once over with his Ki sight. "HEY YOU PERVERT. Who do you think you're looking at?". Ranma for his part just ignore her and turns to Tofu. "It's just a minor sprain. Probably from breaking cinder blocks.". Akane for her part was stunned before Tofu walks up to her and touches a few points on her hand. "You're right Ranma. But how could you tell?"

"Simple. She was favouring her left hand ever so slightly. You couldn't tell without analysing her body language but once I saw that, I immediately swapped to my Ki sight. After that it was easy to see the distorted Ki flow."

"My word you're right. I'm impressed. Are you considering work in medicine?". Shaking his head, Ranma replies with a firm no before going up towards Akane and taking her hand. Akane is immediately stunned for a second before she attempts to wrest her hand from the handsome stranger's hands but is stopped by a warm sensation. Looking down, she notices a soft blue light enveloping her hand. A few seconds later, Ranma lets go and turns to Dr Tofu. "As you can see the process at first is rather difficult as you need to force Ki to enter the body but once the body accepts, the healing becomes considerably faster." Looking at Akane "I suggest you lay off that hand for an hour or so and then you should gain full mobility." Turning back to Tofu "If she hurts it again Tofu-san you know what to do."

"Thank you Ranma for showing me this technique and I wish you luck."

"Thank you Tofu-san. I should get going now.". Suddenly a cry of wait is heard. Turning towards a slightly dishevelled Yoshi, the group wait patiently for her to regain her breath. "Aren't you going to wait for me Ranma?"

"Sorry Yoshi. I thought you were going to spend time with Akio."

"Nonsense. After what you did; taking you to your mother's house is the least I can do.". Patting her hair down and straightening her top, Yoshi grabs Ranma's arm and walks him out of the clinic. Ranma turns to Akane just before leaving. "It was nice to see you Akane. Enjoy your day.". With that he left an impressed Tofu and a very puzzled Akane. "You know, that boy will go far. I have ever seen a martial artist of that calibre before but I'm sure he is not going to be the last of his type to appear here.". Akane merely grunts her acknowledgement before thinking to herself _who was that guy and why am I feeling like this?_


	6. Reunions and Tales from China

Chapter 6: Reunions and Tales from China

Knock, knock. The sound of knuckles hitting wood hovers over the quiet streets of the Nerima suburbs. Since it was still a little past 2, schools would still be running so Ranma and Yoshi managed to get back without much trouble. At the door, Yoshi quickly gave Ranma a hug before walking away. At the gate, she turned around to wish him good luck before going back. Ranma waited for a few minutes before knocking once again. Knock, knock. A minute passes. Two minutes before suddenly the door opens in front of him, revealing an auburn haired middle aged woman somewhere in her early thirties. She carried the regal air of someone important but that was partially dampened by an incredible loneliness and sense of longing. Ranma for his part was shocked at how little he thought of his mother's pain. Suddenly the need to comfort the woman who gave him life became overwhelming and Ranma rushed forward to hug a very startled Nodoka. Unused to being hugged like this, she shrieked.

BOOM! "GET AWAY NODOKA! I'LL TAKE CARE OF THIS … Ranma?". Ranma looks at the older man before breaking into a smile and coming forward to greet his old master. "Sensei!" he said bowing forward to show the appropriate respect. Genryu for his part looked proudly at the young man in front of him before replying "That's enough respect for your master but how about a hug for your grandpa.". Immediately he starts to laugh but is cut off by the ferocious hug Ranma gives him. Clearly surprised by the power in Ranma's body; Genryu gasps before Ranma lets him down. "Wow boy. It seems you have gotten nearly as much strength as when you used to use the Iron Body when I first applied the Ultimate Weakness Moxibustion Point. Are you sure you don't think I should remove it?". Ranma looks at his grandfather before firmly replying "No! If I do that then I would not be able to use the training it provides to its fullest potential. I will probably try to bring my power up to twice my original power before letting the technique be removed just to ensure completeness."

"I understand boy. I …". Just then, Nodoka managed to snap out of her reverie enough to realise that the boy who just hugged her was none other than her son who spent the last decade training. Finally she runs up to hug her son before taking him to the living room and sitting him down rather forcefully to get an idea of what her idiot husband did. "Speaking of idiots where's Genma?" she asked, looking rather worriedly at the young man in front of her. The young man in question simply picks up a piece of home-made brownie, slowly takes a bite before putting it down and looking at the rather distraught woman, before replying "Probably trying to run off to his friend Tendo's house.". Meanwhile in different parts of Nerima, a large panda and a slim middle-aged man with shoulder length hair and a moustache sneezed. "Someone must be talking about me." Stated a slightly uneasy Soun Tendo.

Getting back to his thought process, the middle-aged father of three picked up where he left off. _They should have been here. Genma sent me a postcard, so where are they? What if something happened? Maybe they confronted the master. No wait we sealed him. What if he got out? Surely he must be after me now. I have to take the girls and run or …_. Suddenly the doorbell rang. Immediately snapping out of his thoughts, Soun immediately calls his daughters downstairs. Girls I have an announcement to make.

Back at the Saotome home,

"So your father went to China to train you and ended up taking you to a cursed spring. Then he got himself cursed to turn into a panda."

"That about sums it up.". Ranma, Genryu and Nodoka were in the Saotome Dojo where Ranma was practising some of the more advanced forms he picked up in China. Nodoka looked at the young boy, _no man_ she thought with much pride as she watched him practise his art. Due to the heat outside, Ranma was practising without his trademark Chinese shirt or his tank top. Nodoka looked at the way his muscles were flexing as he moved gracefully and silently through his katas, the look of ease apparent on his handsome face. _My son is so manly. With his looks I'm sure girls will be eating out of the palm of his hands. And then I can get plenty of grandbabies. _At the thought of grandbabies, Nodoka's eyes glazed over slightly before returning her eyes to the young man bowing towards her. Returning the bow, she gestures for Ranma to sit down. Ranma immediately sits down in the half-lotus position facing both parents. "I thought I should also inform you that I fell into one of the Jusenkyo springs while I was there.". Panic set in Nodoka's eyes as she looked worriedly at the young man in front of her, trying to figure out what spring Ranma could have fallen in. Seeing the look on his mother's face, Ranma elaborates. "I fell into the spring of drowned girl.". Silence. "WHAT?"

"Calm down mom. It's not a big deal …"

"Not a big deal? MY HANDSOME SON TURNS INTO A GIRL WITH THE TOUCH OF COLD WATER AND IT'S NOT A BIG DEAL?". Getting up, Ranma picks up a glass of cold water and pours it on himself. Shocked by the lack of transformation, a stunned Nodoka mumbles incoherently before Ranma snaps her out of it. "I'm immune to the springs."

"But how?" asked Nodoka, her tone a mixture of relief and confusion. "How could you be immune?"

"It's not unheard of Nodoka.". Nodoka turns to face Genryu before he continues. "Jusenkyo springs are designed to help a person who has not attained balance to attain it by either drawing out a hidden trait or giving a means of releasing excess amounts of that trait. However if a person is perfectly balanced physically, mentally and spiritually, they cannot be cursed. However for Ranma to attain enlightenment at his age is remarkable."

"My manly son!" Nodoka sighs with a look of pride and reverence.

"Mom you're embarrassing me." Ranma whines.

"Ho ho ho. At least you aren't cursed. But can I ask what that red bang is?". Genryu looks at Ranma for an answer. Ranma tries to remember what the guide at Jusenkyo said when he asked the same question. _How do I explain this? I understood it in Chinese but how do I tell them? _Finally coming up with a suitable translation of the guides words, Ranma begins his explanation. "Basically, Jusenkyo has marked me with a magical symbol to express my immunity. When I fell into the spring of drowned girl, one of the features I would have had had I have been cursed would be red hair. My symbol reflects one of the features that would have changed. In fact the guide was saying that probably the only feature I could have retained was my hair colour since everything else was more of a change in plumbing and **extras**.". Shuddering after expressing the last word, Ranma turns back to the group. Deciding that he has explained enough of what he did, it is time for them to come up with plans.

"Ranma? What are your thoughts on getting married?"

"Well mom if I know the girl and like her, then yes. However, if you mean one of those arranged marriages that my baka of a father tried to set up, then I'm not honouring them.". Nodoka winces at these words. "What if I agreed to this engagement?". Ranma looks at Nodoka incredulously before thinking. "Well it would be fine so long as we were given a chance to determine whether or not we actually had any feelings for each other. I wouldn't want to ruin any woman's wedding by being the husband they didn't love.". Hearing these words, tears well up in Nodoka's eyes before she rushes forward and hugs her son. "How you became so good considering your father is beyond me. Know that I am both proud and honoured to accept your thoughts. Now have you considered what you intend to do?"

"I want to open up the dojo and teach. My intention is to get a degree in Physical Education with a minor in Business. Then after college, I'll open up the dojo."

"But have you kept up with your studies on the road? I'm sure Genma wouldn't attempt to educate you at all."

"Don't worry Nodoka. I made sure to keep him on track with his studies. In fact, when I left him, he was ready to do the college entrance exams." Genryu stated. Nodoka squealed happily, bouncing on the balls of her feet. "Not only is my son handsome but he is also smart and a great martial artist. My son is so manly.". Genryu simply waits before he turns to Ranma before saying "If you want, we can book you a seat for the admissions exams and you can start next term."

"I'm afraid that's not possible. Son, due to the current changes in legislation, students must graduate high school before they can participate in the college exams even if they were home schooled."

"Aw man. This is just great. Now I have to go over stuff I already know. School will be boring."

"You never know son." Nodoka replied. "You will also get the chance to make some new friends your age.". At the thought of making some friends, Ranma agrees. A few hours later and the Saotome family return home with a pile of bags filled with various clothing, uniforms and training gear, all of which Ranma decides to set up after school tomorrow. After he says goodnight to his mom and grandfather, Ranma goes to sleep completely unaware of the troubles awaiting him at a particular high school.


	7. Old Fools, New Rules

Chapter 7: Old fool, New rules

The people in Nerima might have been used to weird occurrences happening but seeing people walking on fences was a new one on them. Especially considering that the fence was next to a brand new pavement. However this did not deter a certain pigtailed martial artist who at the moment was deep in thought about his new situation. _Fiancée? What do I do? All I know is martial arts. I have no experience with how to deal with these situations. At least I managed to get mom to agree that I should get to meet her before the engagement is recognised. I wonder if I know her. Probably not! It was an engagement at birth and even if I knew her I would have forgotten her long ago. _Suddenly a flare of battle aura brings Ranma from his thoughts. Under normal circumstances Ranma would have gone straight towards the battle to see if he could learn some new moves. However at this moment he was running a bit late and it wouldn't look good being late on the first day. Continuing on, Ranma thinks nothing of it until he senses the same battle aura. _Damn whoever is fighting must have some great control over their aura to be able to flare it twice. _Ki sight activated, Ranma takes a look in the direction of the battle before noticing an anomaly in the aura. Immediately he starts to run. _Not good! NOT GOOD! She's gonna lose that hand if she keeps fighting like that._

Ranma reaches the school to see a pair of girls taking down the last of a group of perhaps 3 dozen boys. Whew, he whistled. _These girls must be good. There she is. Why is her aura so familiar?_ He walks forward towards the injured girl before the other brown haired girl turns around and screams "ANOTHER PERVERT!". Both girls face their pigtailed opponent before launching a barrage of kicks and punches. Ranma looks at the pair with some resentment. _Just a pair of amateurs. That aura must be emotion based._ Snapping out of his thoughts, Ranma bends back supporting his entire body on just his knees before using his incredible muscle control to pull his body upright. The students merely watch in awe as this new kid dodges the blows of Furinkan High's martial arts elite, with minimal effort.

Ranma sways and flows around the blows, always out of reach of the two increasingly frustrated girls. Suddenly the brown haired girl pulls back before yelling "OUT OF THE WAY AKANE! HE'S MINE!". Pulling a giant fan from out of nowhere, she immediately launches a gust of frigid wind towards Ranma. _She seems to have some experience with Ice Ki. No wait it's just her fan. What a drag. This is getting old but these girls are getting serious. _Jumping easily out of the way of the icy miniature tornado, Ranma moves into a loose stance, feet shoulder width apart with his left hand in his pocket and his right hand pointed at the girls, palm facing the sky. _I can't use too much power. I guess the Iron Lotus should do. _

Taking this stance as an insult to their capabilities, both Akane and this brown haired girl run forward. Suddenly Ranma's hands blur as he catches every single blow they attempt to land. Ranma concentrates solely on Akane ensuring that he catches her blows carefully so as not to aggravate her injury. _Honestly I told her to take it easy for the first hour. By the looks of it she waited 20 minutes then started her training again. Gotta make sure that I don't strain her hairline fractures._ Thinking that Ranma is giving Akane a perverted look, the brown haired girl immediately launches a gust of frigid wind at him. Ranma simply brings his right hand forward and shrugs off the wind as if it were nothing more than a cold breeze. "Your attacks have little effect when you are angry. Calm down!"

"Don't tell me what to do pervert. I know exactly what to do with your pervert kind." the brown haired girl retorted, voice seeping with venom. _Clearly the wrong approach. I'll need to defeat them now._ Suddenly Ranma brings both his right and left hands forward and blocks both Akane's and the brown haired girl's punches with a single finger before charging his hands with Ki and shoving them 10 feet back. Standing upright, He simply dusts himself off before looking at both girls. "I think this proves that I am stronger."

"Yeah right. We're just …"

"Natsume, calm down. He took on both of us and held us to a standstill without breaking a sweat and I have a sneaking suspicion that he held back all this time."

"WHAT! That's impossible. No one can be that strong.". Walking forward, Ranma stops in front of Akane and lifts her hand before forcing her fist open. Looking carefully, Ranma immediately takes two fingers before drawing them across her hand with an almost sensual slowness. Akane simply gasps whilst Natsume brings up her fan to hit Ranma. "Stop!". An outraged Natsume looks at Akane before asking "Are you CRAZY! You're letting a boy touch you like that IN PUBLIC?". Ranma simply drops his fingers from her hands before tracing a line to across her forearm before quickly striking 3 shiatsu points and letting go of her hands. "Sorry about that. Those points are really close to some vital spots so I try to be slow when I have to deal with them."

"It's Ok Ranma you didn't do anything wrong. Thanks!"

"Thanks! THANKS! You're thanking this pervert? After what he did in public to you …"

"Miss Natsume, I would appreciate it if you didn't insult my practise. Had I not have intervened she would have lost the ability to use her hand at all.". Shocked by this revelation, Akane simply looks speechless before saying, "I thought you healed my hand.". Ranma simply sighs before saying "I did. However I expressly told you not to use it for any martial arts for an hour so it could set. You didn't listen and instead used it less than a half hour after the healing. The reason I told you to be careful was that your bones would remain a bit weak after the Ki treatment."

"I'm sorry Ranma."

"That's ok Akane."

Suddenly Akane and Natsume turn around to pluck something out of the air. Both sigh in exhaustion before a young man in a hakama comes forward. _This guy is good. Though by his stance he only knows kendo. _"Who is this guy Akane?"

"That's Kuno. He's the idiot who made an announcement that caused all these boys to keep ganging up on us every morning."

"What did he say?"

"He said he would only accept someone going on a date with me and my sister Natsume if they beat us in a fight. Every boy mistook that to mean that they would get a date if they beat us."

"Now that's just stupid. Maybe I should …"

"Who are you to speak so familiarly to Akane?" Kuno quickly stated turning towards Ranma.

"Honestly we aren't that close. We barely know each other but I don't know her surname so I cannot address her with the proper respect."

"Tendo. My name is Akane Tendo and this is my sister Natsume Tendo."

"Pleasure. I'm Ranma Saotome. Just so you know, I'll let you guys off on that date if you take me to the school office.". Suddenly Kuno moves towards Ranma and stares at him before saying "You expect me to believe that you yourself beat my fierce tigress Akane Tendo and her cold yet beautiful sister Natsume? I refuse to accept this. I will beat you and free these young maidens from your spell Saotome."

"And who exactly are you?" Ranma asks politely but with a hint of self-loathing for asking this question. "I am the rising star of the kendo world. The undefeated champion of Furinkan High. My peers call me the Blue Thunder. I am Tatewaki Kuno, age 17.". Kuno turns around shocked to see that Ranma is barely paying attention and simply talking to both Natsume and Akane. Hearing the monologue ending, Ranma turns around before looking critically at the kendoist. "Would you mind if I gave my opinion on the situation?". Kuno, assuming that Ranma is about to kneel and grovel in front of him, accepts. Ranma takes a deep breath, then staring directly at the kendoist begins. "You fashion yourself to be some sort of samurai, correct?"

"Not some sort of. I am a samurai!" Kuno replies. Ranma however simply looks at Kuno with disgust. "Do not insult the title samurai. I know of the samurai and you are definitely not worthy of claiming to be one. You are not even worthy to be ronin."

"YOU DARE ADDRESS TATEWAKI KUNO AS …"

"Yes I do. As a samurai, you must follow the code of Bushido. However from my first 10 minutes in this school, all I have seen is a young man who is too much of a coward to accept the rejection of these two girls in front of him. Rather than respect their wishes, you force them into fighting all these men giving them a promise that you couldn't keep and jeopardising their integrity. You are a misogynistic, chauvinistic pig who lives in a dream world thinking that just because you possess some fighting skill, women are swooning in your presence. Then you go back on your word when you hear something that you do not want to occur and attack from behind. You have broken four of the seven ideals of Bushido and yet you honestly think yourself worthy of that uniform?". The entire school simply looks at Ranma with awe as they see this young man who held of Nerima's best singlehandedly, quite literally, and is now berating Kuno. What's even more amazing is that he's making Kuno see sense.

Ranma looks at the stunned kendoist before turning around to face the girls behind him. Noticing their stunned faces, Ranma simply walks towards the school muttering to himself about letting the new kid find the school office by himself. Akane and Natsume simply stand there. Kuno regains his composure before announcing to no one in particular that he must have time to think, before he walks towards his own class. Suddenly the students are in a buzz about the new kid in school.


	8. Hi I'm your new Classmate

Chapter 8: Hi I'm your new Classmate

Akane and Natsume were sitting at their tables. Having been woken up from their stupor by the late bell, they quickly went to their class. However they were lucky since their teacher wasn't here yet. Everyone was talking about the new kid in school and whether or not he was going to join. The girls were talking animatedly about this mature boy who defends women, making him out to be some sort of champion of feminism to the girls who missed out on watching the scene downstairs. The boys on the other hand were questioning the sanity of said boy, who turned down 2 dates with the most popular girls in the entire grade. Hearing this, most of the girls looked at the boys having this conversation before continuing with their own, hearts in eyes.

Just as things were looking good, Natsume and two other girls walk up to Akane, Natsume at the front of the desk and the other girls at either side. Immediately the girl on the right looks at Akane before saying "So spill. Who is this guy and how do you know him.". Hearing this, the girls in the class immediately pool up around her desk asking questions. "Is he your boyfriend?"

"How close are you?"

"What's his name?"

"Where does he live?"

"How long have you known him?"

Having enough, Natsume quickly shouts to quiet down the crowd before looking at Akane and saying "Well?". Akane facefaults at this before recovering quickly and telling them about how they first met at the Ono clinic. Once she finished the explanation of that situation, she immediately follows up with the events in the courtyard today. Suddenly the girls all start squealing. "He fought you but held back so he could fix your hand? Then he fixed it in front of the entire school and defended your honour? I swear Akane you're a lucky one. You have two hot doctors looking after you whereas I just have a 60 year old woman who hates my guts."

"Yuka?" Akane whines. The girl named Yuka immediately looks over to the girl at the right hand side of the table before saying "What about you Sayuri? Is your doctor good looking?"

"Well she's ok but I don't go that way." replied the girl on Akane's right. Just then the door opened and the teacher walks in. The 27 year old woman immediately raises the attention of the class and the class sits down. Pausing for a few seconds before deeming it the right time to make her announcement, the teacher takes a breath before saying "Class, we have a new student. He has just come back from a training trip in China so please give him a big Nihao welcome.". Just then, Ranma walks into the class room. The class is stunned to see the boy, who was the centre of their conversation a few moments ago, now their new classmate. "Why don't you introduce yourself?". In a voice like silk Ranma says "I'm Ranma Saotome." before bowing low to the classroom.

Suddenly two girls just faint. Blurring immediately to their side, Ranma presses two shiatsu points on their necks before picking them up and seating them. Once both girls are seated, blushes evident on their faces, and Ranma has given them a once over; Ranma walks back up to the front before continuing his introduction. Akane simply drifts off into space. _I hate boys yet why does this boy make me feel different? He is unlike any other boys. But all boys are perverts right? But he just healed me twice and told off Kuno for me. He does look good. And Kami what a Butt! _At this Akane looks at the class, all of whom are staring at her. "I didn't just say that out loud did I?". Looking at Natsume, she quickly deflates once she sees her sister nod morosely before she hides behind her history book to cover her blush.

After what seemed like forever, Ranma quickly continues and finishes off his introduction before looking to the teacher to assign him a seat. The teacher looks at the register before saying "Why don't you take a seat behind Tendo-san?". Both Ranma and Akane look at the teacher with worried looks before the teacher quickly points out that this is the only available seat. Ranma quickly grabs his bag before walking towards his seat and sitting down leaving a trail of his aftershave behind him, causing most of the girls (including Akane) to lean in the path he took. Once he sat down, the teacher looks at the board and begins her class. After the first five minutes, Ranma starts to look out of the window. Looking back, the teacher notices this and throws a piece of chalk at Ranma which he punches into chalk-dust out of pure reflex. The class look at the martial artist before the teacher decides to play pick on the student. Little did she know she picked the wrong student to play with.

"24."

"The Battle of Sekigahara!"

"It wouldn't be a good idea to continue with this charade any longer mister rabbit."

"1915"

"Rome is the capital of Italy" replied Ranma his face once again shifting to a bored expression. "Let's see you try this then hot shot." said the teacher looking rather angry at being defeated by this young man. Taking out a college textbook, she immediately writes down an equation and asks Ranma to solve it. Ranma barely looks at it before replying "This equation is the one that states how mass changes with respect to the velocity at which an object travels. At 1/3 the speed of light, the mass increases by approximately 10% so the momentum would be 36000π⁴ kgm/s.". The class looks at their shocked teacher who snaps out of it before looking at Ranma. "How could you possibly know this?". Ranma just shrugs before replying "I was home-schooled since I travelled to much to have a traditional education. My parents planned for me to go straight to college and take the entrance exams but there was a legislation change so now I have to finish high school before I can take the exams.". Suddenly all the girls have bigger hearts in their eyes than before whilst the boys look even more uncomfortable at the boy who seems to have everything they don't. Ranma's teacher simply beams at her new charge before asking whether Ranma would be willing to help with the lessons. Ranma thinks about this for a few minutes before agreeing to this.

The lunch bell rang. Ranma was quite relieved at this. _If I didn't know any better, I would have assumed they were coming onto me. I bet someone made a dare. Why else would all those girls try and touch me every time I was helping them? _Ranma started to look back at what happened after becoming the teacher's assistant.

#Flashback#

"Ok class. Whenever you need help, please raise your hand and either me or Ranma will come over and help you. Now everyone who needs help, please raise your hands and Ranma can begin.". Suddenly, the hands of all the girls in the class, except for Akane and Natsume, went up. A bit surprised at this; Ranma walked up to the back to start helping the girls.

#End Flashback#

_At first, they were simply asking questions and smiling a lot once I helped them. Then it progressed until they would all rub my arms as I showed them how to solve the questions. _His train of thought was interrupted as he sensed the aura's of hundreds of students, all girls. Deciding he didn't need to be confronted so soon, Ranma jumped from the window. Suddenly all the girls were screaming and looking to see what happened to the handsome martial artist. Looking down, expecting to see a Ranma pancake; the girls were quite surprised to see the object of their attention walking as if it was nothing. Ranma finds a good spot near a sakura tree and sits down in a half lotus position.

The girls on the 3rd floor all began a mad dash to the grounds to sit as close to Ranma as possible. Ranma, oblivious to their reaction, takes out a bento and chuckles. _Mom did say she wanted to try my food. I didn't think she'd expect to make it right here though. _Ranma looks at the ingredients in front of him before tossing them in the air. After drawing his Ki to his hands; Ranma slashes his hands just before the ingredients, chopping them using his hands as knives. Once done; he pulls out a pan out of nowhere and catches all the ingredients before putting the pan onto a paraffin cooker, again seemingly pulled out of thin air.

While he was cooking, a young girl with short brown hair and a carefully guarded expression walks forward. "Ohayo Akane, Natsume."

"What do you want Nabiki?" Natsume responded coolly.

"Is that any way to talk to your sister?" Nabiki quirked.

"Well it is when the sister in question does anything for money!" Akane replied hotly.

"Ouch sis. I just wanted to know a bit more about the new hunk in your class. Ranma was it?"

"5000 yen". Nabiki just looked outraged as Natsume stuck her palm out. "Come on Nabiki. Surely you didn't think we'd just give you the information considering how many times you charged us when we needed something. 5000 yen. Take it or leave it!"

"Here.". Nabiki quickly hands over a note to the younger girl before looking at Akane. Akane is about to begin before Natsume quickly intervenes. "You only paid for Akane's share. What about mine?"

"What?". Nabiki looked incredulous. "Another 5000 yen should do nicely. What do you think Akane?". Natsume looks towards Akane who simply nods in assent, a smirk on her face. Muttering about the worth of this information, Nabiki reluctantly hands over another note to the young brown haired girl before looking over at Akane. Akane immediately goes over everything she knows. Nabiki starts to laugh when Natsume goes over Akane's embarrassing moment in class before deciding that she got a good deal. Before leaving, she looks over at the two of them before saying "Well played!".

The girls are about to reply before the scent of food reaches the trio. All three girls look at Ranma, who is packing away a pan and paraffin cooker away, before Akane looks away slightly depressed. "Even he can cook! This is just embarrassing."

"I don't think you can really compare yourself to him. By the smell, I would think he was a professional. Don't worry though. You'll get there eventually."

"Really Nabiki? You think I can?"

"Well I could tell you for 5000 yen." said a smirking Nabiki. Akane simply looks at Ranma quickly before looking to the side. "Is that KUNO?". The other two immediately look at where Akane is pointing to see a boy with a bokken, wearing the Furinkan boy's uniform.

Ranma is about to start his meal before he senses a familiar aura. Preparing himself for a possible confrontation, he looks but lowers his guard when he sees the depression in the young man's aura. "Saotome-san, may we speak?"


	9. A Kuno can change his Spots

Chapter 9: A Kuno can change his Spots

"Saotome-san, may we speak?"

"Kuno. How can I help you?" Ranma replied with a mixture of sympathy and curiosity. Kuno simply looks at the Ranma before bowing as low as he can to the man in front of him. "I, Tatewaki Kuno, humbly ask for your forgiveness. I have pondered the meaning of your words and understand that my delusions hurt two people that I believed I was in love with. Now thanks to your words, I realise all I had was a childish infatuation, since if I truly loved them; I would have acted differently. Your words have brought me back to reality and for this I thank you. I would understand if you didn't believe me but … but …"

"Kuno-sempai? Please sit.". Ranma points to a spot in front of him and gestures for Kuno to sit down. Kuno simply looks shocked but quickly acquiesces to Ranma's will. Sitting down, Ranma pulls out a leather wallet with a pair of chopsticks and throws it to Kuno. Using reflexes borne from years of martial arts training, Kuno catches the pair easily with one hand. Looking at the pair and then at Ranma, Kuno realises that the man in front of him is offering to share his meal with him. Realising this, Kuno immediately bows down low, tears in his eyes before saying "I cannot accept this honour Saotome-san. You have shown me respect that I am unworthy of claiming. I cannot …"

"Kuno-sempai! You do not need my forgiveness. Let me ask you this. Do you understand and acknowledge your mistakes?"

"Ye Yes." Kuno cried out softly.

"This is the first step to repentance. What will you give to be forgiven?"

"I will give anything and everything in my power to be forgiven.". Ranma looks at the prostrated man in front of him before raising him upright. "You will be forgiven. Do not worry. If it makes you feel better, I forgive you. However you must ask forgiveness to those who have been involved in this debacle for longer than 10 minutes. This means the students who you offered this promise to and the two Tendo sisters who you hurt today."

"Thank you Saotome-san. You are truly a better man than me."

"Saotome-san is my grandpa. You may call me Ranma.". Hearing this, everyone facefaults. No one is more shocked than Kuno, who looks as if he is about to cry. Ranma however prevents this from occurring. "Kuno-sempai, you are a combatant of considerable skill. I have few friends in this school and I would be honoured to have someone of your martial arts skill as a rival and friend."

"But you are clearly more skilled. I sensed your battle aura as I came here. It is truly greater than I could ever achieve. How can I be your rival?"

"Kuno-sempai. I am sure that had we fought with swords, you would easily defeat me. My skill in the sword is above average at best. But speaking of swords, why are you still carrying yours?"

"As a practitioner of an armed martial art, I feel incomplete without my weapon. It must sound stupid to you mustn't it?"

"Actually no. I happen to carry my sword everywhere I go.". Ranma soon pulls out a sword from seemingly thin air. Kuno is just stunned by how the sword appeared from nowhere before looking at Ranma. "You are a practitioner of the sword?"

"Yes. I am actually quite partial to Chinese straight blades so I carry one if I cannot beat an opponent bare handed."

"I'm surprised that any style would let their students practise both armed and unarmed combat."

"Actually my style frowns upon using weapons as it is believed that weapons act as a crutch. However it is not called Anything Goes for nothing so I am trained in multiple weapon forms. However I have not been trained to master any one weapon."

"And is the way you summoned your weapon one of the Anything Goes techniques?"

"Actually I just added it to my arsenal a few months ago. Hey I have an idea. If you would teach me to use the sword as well as you can, I will teach you some Ki techniques that you could possibly incorporate in your Kendo.". Kuno thinks for a moment before looking at Ranma. "I accept. But on two conditions."

"Name them."

"If I deem you good enough, I want you to join the Kendo team."

"That is acceptable. What is the second?"

"I would like for us to become friends. Real friends!". Ranma smiles at this and agrees. Both sitting back down, Ranma once again offers some of the meal to Kuno who takes a bite. Carefully taking a morsel and trying it, Kuno nearly gags. Ranma quickly looks at him before Kuno stutters out "This is the most delicious meal I have ever had the pleasure of eating. You are a culinary genius Saotome-san."

"Kuno-sempai, if we are to be friends I expect you to drop the honorifics. I do not expect or request for my friends to address me as such. I treat it as an insult and so would appreciate it if you would drop this.". Hearing this, Kuno immediately replies his apology. "I am sorry Saotome-san … Saotome. I would appreciate it if you would call me Kuno rather than sempai. I am also rather adverse to honorifics."

"Acknowledged. Now let us continue with the meal."

"Saotome, will it be all right if I was to take some of this food to my personal chef? I'm sure he would appreciate the chance to try some new recipes, especially if they taste this good."

"It's no problem Kuno. Just let me pack it in a box.". Pulling out a box the same way as the sword greatly intrigues Kuno. "Saotome?"

"Yes?"

"How is it that you are pulling stuff out of thin air? Is it the same technique you mentioned before?"

"Yes actually. It is called a stuff space. It can be created by relatively advanced martial artists. You are at a level where you can learn to make it. At first though, it will be quite small. As you become more adept at using it, you will be able to make it bigger."

"Where did you learn this technique and how does it work?". Ranma taps his chin in thought before coming up with an explanation. "The stuff space is not a physical location. What you are doing is that you are storing the weapon in a shroud of Ki."

"Ki?"

"Ki is the spiritual energy of a being. It comes through intense training of the body and mind. There are two forms of Ki. These are emotional and elemental. I'll probably go over this when I teach you some of the moves I plan to show."

"I see. So you are saying that I can already use Ki?"

"Actually I have never seen someone exert so much unconscious influence over wind Ki as you did. The fact that you can do this is a definite gauge of your capabilities."

"How so?"

"Well it is much harder to manipulate elemental Ki. Only a true master of himself can manipulate elemental Ki."

"But I wasn't in control. How could I manipulate elemental Ki if what you are saying is true?"

"Kuno, you don't have full control over elemental Ki since you haven't yet mastered yourself. Once you do that, you will truly be capable of using wind Ki. As for the reason you can do so, you have achieved a balance between man and beast if what I read from your aura is correct. Once you balance your male and female Ki together, you will have fully balanced yourself as I have and attain mastery over elemental Ki.". Kuno looks at the boy in shock before asking "You're a hermaphrodite?". Ranma hits Kuno hard on the head before saying "YOU DOPE! I'm not a hermaphrodite. When you balance your male and female Ki, you gain control over both your physical/male state and your emotional/female state."

"So you are saying that you are a master of your body and emotions?"

"Yes. Who said anything about a hermaphrodite? I assure you I'm 100% man.". Immediately all the surrounding girls start a chorus of "I'll say!" and "He sure is!". Just before he can reply however, the warning bell rings forcing Ranma to have to pack up and leave for class. "I'll see you later Kuno. If you want, I could start your training tomorrow."

"I'd like that Saotome. I'll see you tomorrow then, say 5 o clock?"

"5 it is then.". The crowd parts way in confusion before realising that they only have a few minutes to eat lunch. After a quick scramble, all students immediately finish their meals and run to get to their next classes. Meanwhile Ranma is getting giddy with excitement at the thought of mastering the sword and having made a powerful friend and rival. Just then, Akane comes over to Ranma. "Ranma, I was wondering whether you and I could be friends.". Ranma looks at Akane before nodding, an infectious grin spreading on his face causing even Akane to smile. Ranma goes to the front and for the rest of the day, he has a smile on his face.


	10. Wait! I know you!

Chapter 10: Wait! I know you!

Ranma walked back from another session with kendo session with Kuno. So far his first week at Furinkan went off without a hitch. He had made friends with Kuno and Akane, and to some extent Natsume; however both girls were a bit reluctant to spend time around Kuno. Natsume was still a little miffed at having lost so easily to Ranma. So far she challenged Ranma to 9 battles and each time he was spending less and less time to beat her. Akane was intrigued at the pigtailed martial artist's style having never seen it before. She constantly pestered Ranma about it but always got the same answer in reply. "It is my family style and I am not entitled to divulge its secrets to anyone not born of the Saotome family unless they are my wife."

"Come on! Can't you at least demonstrate your techniques? I can show you some of mine. Come on! From one martial artist to another.". Akane was always treated with the same infectious grin before Ranma would tap her forehead and disappear. Kuno was soon becoming a close friend. Ranma learnt a lot about the kendoist during his sparring sessions with him. He soon learnt about his sister and their rather neglectful father. In return, Ranma told Kuno about his father attempting to engage him to several women and keeping him ignorant so that he could live off of Ranma's hard work. Kuno was shocked at how self-centred Genma was and vowed that if he ever caught that lazy panda, he would have a rug made out of him.

So it turned out, Kuno had very little to help Ranma with. It seemed that his technique had just a few small holes in it.

#Flashback#

"Let me see one of your sword katas Ranma. I'll be able to judge your capability based on that."

"Hai Sensei!". Immediately Ranma was a blur, demonstrating an advanced sword kata with much precision and accuracy. However it was evident to Kuno that the technique needed a little work. "Stop.". Ranma turned to face Kuno before bowing. Kuno moved to the centre and took his bokken from his stuff space. _This is so cool. I really have to thank Ranma for showing me this. _Kuno thought before facing his charge. "Ranma. You have excellent technique and precision. However you have a tendency to let the tip of your sword fall as you do swings. Also your sword is too close to your body which is a big mistake. In sword fighting, you need speed to launch a strike. Holding the sword that close to your body is good for sideways slashes but you leave your entire front guard exposed. You need to learn to control the distance between the tsuba and your body. Otherwise you are near my level."

#End Flashback#

_After that, Kuno-kun asked me to become a member of the kendo team. I joined and now I'm the vice-captain and a regular competitor in the tournaments. I'm lasting longer in the sparring matches between myself and Kuno-kun and my guard has improved. Kuno-kun says that a little more work and I will be his equal in the sword. _Ranma was becoming giddy at the thought of finally mastering his swordplay. He always preferred the Chinese straight blade he carried. _Light, quick, and most importantly impossible to kill anyone without intent._ Ranma mused.

Realising he was next to home, Ranma jumped off the fence and walked through the gate. Grandpa Genryu had left a few days ago so Ranma and Nodoka were living together. Ranma had learnt a lot about his mother. She was a master of her family's sword style. _Kamaya Kenshin I think she called it._ She was also a school kendo teacher and had been for the last 8 years.

Seeing Ranma's interest in swordplay, she decided to let him study her form when she trained. Ranma for his part was highly attentive and could pick up techniques in just a few demonstrations. Nodoka was quite impressed by Ranma's skill with his straight blade although she wished he would not favour a gaijin weapon over the Katana. However upon hearing her son's reasoning, this opinion was immediately cast away. _My manly son. He studies the sword not to destroy but to protect. If only I could have seen him grow into the wonderful young man he became._

Today however, Nodoka was wearing a beautiful summer kimono with an ornate jade inlaid bow tying up her long auburn hair. Noting his awe at the look, Nodoka giggles a bit before firmly saying "Go in and get dressed. I left out a formal yutaka for you to wear.". After shaking his head a couple of times Ranma replies "Mom you look amazing! But what's the occasion?"

"Thank you son. Your complement means a lot to me.". Nodoka giggled. _I still have it if my manly son likes the way I look. Wait! Does that mean he likes traditional girls or fighters? _Nodoka snapped out of it when she noticed Ranma waiting for an explanation. Clearing her throat, she immediately asks Ranma "Remember a few days ago how I told you we arranged your engagement before you were born?"

"Yes mom. And I remember you said I could get to know the girl I was engaged to so that the marriage would be successful."

"Yes I did. You see I spoke to your potential father in law about your terms. He convinced me that the best option would be for us to stay with them at their house. That way, you get to know the girls and then …"

"Wait a minute. Girls?". Nodoka gulps at the cool voice Ranma used to say the word 'girls'. "

"Yes I did. You see I spoke to your potential father in law about your terms. He convinced me that the best option would be for us to stay with them at their house. That way, you get to know the girls and then …"

"Wait a minute. Girls?". Nodoka gulps at the icy voice Ranma used to say the word 'girls'. "Yes son. Girls. You see the engagement states that you will be engaged to one of their daughters but not specifically which one. I am sure I informed you of this when we first spoke."

"Well if we did, I clearly didn't remember it." Ranma fumed. However he calmed down immediately before realising the implication. "This means I have a choice!". Immediately much calmer at this revelation, Ranma quickly went into his room, changed into the yutaka and joined his mother. Nodoka was simply speechless by the sudden change in Ranma's mood before realising how much he resented his father for attempting multiple engagements. _I must have made him think of Genma. Sorry son. Never again will I cause you to remember that man. _

Meanwhile at the Tendo home,

"Girls?". Soun Tendo was in a cheerful mood today. Two weeks ago; he informed his daughters of the impending engagement to his old friend's son. Albeit the girls were a bit annoyed at this, they were willing to accept this due to the fact that family honour rested on this marriage. He was quite surprised when a panda came in instead of his old friend. Even more shocking was when the panda turned into his old friend in front of the family and introduced himself as Genma Saotome. If that didn't cause a stir; the fact that Ranma wasn't here in person definitely was the last straw that broke the camel's back.

"Girls? Come quickly. I have just heard that your fiancé is on his way now and will be here in a few minutes.". This was greeted by a vast number of responses. His oldest daughter Kasumi was feverently muttering "Please be an older man. Please". His second daughter simply had that calculating look in her eyes. She was unsure as to whether or not she should change. _After all, the last time I did, I was greeted by a part-time panda who simply mooched off of the family. _

His two younger daughters had mixed feelings. Natsume was dressing herself as best she could, hoping to be the first between herself and Akane to be married. Although she may have appeared to be interested in marriage; in actuality, she was after the dojo. She was one of the two heirs to the Tendo dojo, the other being Akane, and her 'father' had conveniently decided that the first of the two heirs to get married would inherit the dojo.

Akane was quite reluctant. Although she would deny it if anyone would ask; she had developed strong feelings for Ranma. _I think I prefer him over Dr Tofu. He at least doesn't like Kasumi so much that he is oblivious to anyone else._ She just hoped that her father would not force the engagement to her. Akane knew that no matter how much he denied it, Soun Tendo intended for the dojo to be passed onto her and not Natsume. Natsume was the student of his old master and Soun was worried as to what might happen to the dojo should she be given it.

The youngest daughter, a young 12 year old with brown hair and a fiery temper only rivalled by her intense hunger, was quite pleased since it was highly unlikely that she would be picked. Out of all the daughters, she had the largest age gap between herself and their new fiancé. However she sure knew that she would try and dispel any attraction. _If he is attracted to me then he must be a pervert. _she reasoned.

Just then, the doorbell rang. Soun immediately rushed to the door with all the other girls following. Genma had conveniently left the house intending to avoid a confrontation with his son. Soun opened the door to be greeted by an auburn haired woman wearing a beautiful kimono. "Nodoka! Come in, come in. And you must be …"

"Ranma!". Akane had just come to see who her potential fiancé was. Hearing a familiar voice, Ranma's head immediately shot up over Soun Tendo before seeing the familiar faces of the three Tendo sisters he had come to know. "Akane? Natsume? Nabiki?". Turning towards his mother "I'm supposed to marry into the Tendo's?"


	11. A Family Reunion

Chapter 11: A Family Reunion!

"I'm supposed to marry into the Tendo's?". Ranma simply looks shocked. Soun and Nodoka were simply confused having not expected the two sides of the families to meet before the omai. Suddenly Ranma snaps out and breaks into an infectious grin. "Maybe this won't be so bad after all.". Clearly shocked at the way in which the young man in front of him was taking these changes in his stride; Soun simply looked on mouth agape before regaining his composure enough to say "Explain!". Deciding that the explanation couldn't wait, the group moved to the dining room where Ranma was about to begin.

Slowly, Ranma took a sip of his tea before putting down the cup and looking at the people in front of him. He noticed the looks ranging from disappointment to shyness to overwhelming anger. Soun clears his throat before asking "Ranma? We heard you also fell into a Jusenkyo spring. We would like to know which one you fell in.". Ranma not liking where the conversation was going takes another sip of his tea before replying "I fell into the spring of drowned girl.". This leads to massive facefaults before Kurumi yells "PERVERT!". She immediately grabs a ribbon from beside her. Ranma calmly analyses the weapon before noticing the similarity to the fan Natsume carried with her. "You'd better be sure you want to try this with me. I may be unwilling to hit women out of principle but I certainly will not hesitate to demonstrate my true power.".

Suddenly a surge of power is released from the young man. Natsume, Soun and Akane immediately gasp. Ranma's eyes glow a beautiful gold with vertical cat like slits for pupils. Ranma brought up his hand which, the entire family noticed, was cloaked with a brilliant white Ki with black stripes going from one end of the hand to the other. The Ki itself was crackling and sparking with what could only be electricity. Kurumi started to doubt herself before suddenly experiencing warmth radiating from her ribbon. Embracing the warmth, she looked back at Ranma with new found determination.

Ranma simply walked over to one side of the Koi pond before calling Kurumi forward. Kurumi rose taking the bait. Natsume and Akane simply tried to warn her but Soun held them down. "She must learn herself."

"But she'll die if he actually uses his full power. He beat both of us using one hand when he wasn't even trying." Akane shouted hoping that Kurumi would see the futility of her actions. The girl in question simply ignored the statement and took it as a sign to show her superior power over Akane and her sister. She was always the weakest. Her claim only existed since Natsume held a claim. Now she would prove that she was strong enough to be deemed an heir.

Ranma simply looked at the young girl carrying her ribbon to attack. Deciding that he should show his true power, Ranma deactivated the Neko-ken and activated his Iron Body. _I am surprised to see a suppression weapon. Not only that but those weapons look like elementals. Could it be that I have found them at last?_ Ranma snapped out of his thoughts before deciding to show the group gathered around them his true power. "Before you risk your life on this challenge, I would like to show you something.". Bringing his right hand over to his mouth, he extended his index and middle fingers, which he put just under his lips. Pointing his mouth to the sky, he quickly yelled "Majestic Destroyer!". Suddenly a giant pillar of flames burst from his mouth, washing over the sky with deadly power.

Even from the distance they were sitting, the remaining Tendo's and Nodoka looked in awe as they felt the sheer heat from his Ki attack. Kurumi simply looked in fear. This young man was generating more heat that she could without even breaking a sweat. The heat emitted was actually evaporating the water in the pond. _Is he really that much better than me? Is his power that much stronger than mine?_ She was snapped from her thoughts by Ranma ending the technique in a second. He then looked over at the girl in front of him. "That was a tenth of the power of the Iron Fist."

"Iron Fist?" Kurumi questioned. "My most powerful technique and my inheritance.". The others simply looked in awe at the young man standing on their lawn. Noticing that Kurumi wasn't moving, Ranma moved over to her and took her weapon. Sighing, he threw it up before launching a fire Ki attack resulting in a flaming woman crashing into the koi pond. The water splashed on Ranma. What shocked all the people around them was the fact that unlike Genma, Ranma was clearly not changing even though the water was clearly cold. A second later, the previously flaming woman stepped out before drying herself off using her fire Ki. Looking at Ranma briefly to give a scathing look, she immediately faltered after sensing his Ki. _Even when masked, it is higher than mine? Who is he?_ Ranma looks again at the woman before saying "Hello Yuuki. It's nice to see you again."

"R-R-Ranma?" Yuuki stammered before bowing down repeatedly at the clearly irate grandmaster. "Please forgive my insolence grandmaster. I meant no disrespect."

"You don't owe me an apology Yuuki. You owe it to the daughters you attempted to hide.". This revelation shocks all the people gathered around. Ranma simply ignored them before looking at the fan in Natsume's hand before asking "And would that be Kaito?". Realising he couldn't hide anymore, the fan transformed into a handsome man wearing a blue-white robe. "Hello grandmaster."

"Hello Kaito. Would you care to explain why you didn't inform me of your reasons for leaving the temple? I understand that you wanted to see your daughters but becoming their weapons? They must have looked for years hoping to find their parents only for them to be hiding so close!". Ranma was practically seething after saying this. The two newcomers simply winced as they sensed the immense power emanating from this man. Natsume and Kurumi simply looked at the newcomers with a look of anger, resentment and strangely hope. "You denied them their birth right. Had you have asked me, I would have split their warring Ki's yet you didn't even think to ask me.". Confused, Natsume looks at Ranma questioningly. Seeing the confused look, Ranma sighs before going into an explanation.

"Your mother and father are masters of the Temple of the Iron Goat and Iron Rat respectively. They embody the elements of fire and water. As such; it is impossible for you to use elemental Ki properly. In order to use it, you use weapons which we call elementals. These suppress a particular Ki trait to allow another to be used. However, had your parents have talked to me, I could have suppressed them permanently and you would have remained with them without any problems. They didn't realise that I could do this and to protect you sent you away so that no one would tease you for having to use elementals. They then ran from the temple when people started questioning and used their Ki to disguise themselves as elementals.". Ranma looked over at the two newcomers with another look of disgust before saying, "I hope you have learnt your lesson and will return to your temples, taking your respective daughters of course."

A few hours later

"Wait!". Ranma looked around to see an irate Natsume, something Ranma hadn't seen since he fought her the first time. "What is it Natsume?". Natsume looked incredulous. "If you think I am going with them, you must be mistaken. They abandoned us when we were younger. Mr Tendo has been a better parent than the both of them put together. I refuse to go.". Kurumi simply looked stunned whilst Yuuki and Kaito looked shamefaced. "Kurumi? Would you like to comment?". Kurumi simply looked at Ranma with surprise. _She was being asked for her opinion. Normally her opinion was simply overlooked and Natsume's was taken. However she was being offered a chance._ "I want to go with my parents. Although I can't blame Natsume, I don't want to lose them again."

"I respect your decision and would be happy to welcome you to my school.". Ranma walks over to Kurumi before touching her forehead with his right thumb. Suddenly her eyes flashed white before she fell to her knees breathing hard. Natsume, Yuuki and Kaito were about to interrupt before Ranma's battle aura shone and kept the trio still. After catching her breath, Kurumi got up and looked at Ranma before asking "What did you do?". Ranma simply smiled before replying "I converted your water Ki to fire Ki. Now you will be able to study your mother's sacred art."

"Really?". Kurumi was practically pleading for this to be true. However seeing the smile as Ranma confirmed it was practically a blessing from the Kami themselves. Rushing forward, she immediately hugged Ranma before walking back to her parents. Turning around, she looked at Natsume before asking "Are you sure you don't want to come?". Natsume simply sighed. "I wouldn't be able to live as if none of this ever happened. I'm sorry Kurumi."

"It's ok Natsume. Just know that I wish for you to be happy."

"I will. Come back soon little sis.". Beaming at her older sister, Kurumi simply replies "I will." before turning to her parents and walking towards them. "I wish you a safe journey to the temple. Ask to speak to my grandfather Genryu. He will let you know of my verdict once I come to one. Until then, you two are suspended as masters and are expected to train young Kurumi here. I expect to see her practising her birth right when I next visit.". Ranma walks over and riffles Kurumi's hair. The girl in question giggles femininely before Yuuki replies "I will grandmaster. Thank you for giving us our daughters back."

With that the small band of Ranma's students left the Tendo home. Turning around, Ranma simply looks at his family before saying "Shall we?" and walks back to the living room.


	12. Decisions!

Chapter 12: Further Revelations!

The Tendo family was quite shocked at the man who just demonstrated his skills. Ranma was acting as if this was no big deal. This led to many different opinions. _My son is so manly. He has so much power that displaying a tenth of it is enough to scare any martial artist. _Nodoka looked over to Ranma with hearts in her eyes, and once again regretted letting her foolish husband take her son without letting her come along as well. _At least I get to see him now and hopefully he will give me lots and lots of grandbabies! _At the thought of grandbabies, she nearly squealed. Luckily she caught herself before anyone noticed.

Soun Tendo was amazed. _We have an amazing heir! Saotome really did a good job on his son. Power literally rolls off the boy! How can we ever get a better heir? _Soun immediately started weeping with joy started a one man chorus of "The combined schools can't be beaten! We will be the best." _Finally an heir capable of beating the master!_ he added as an afterthought.

Kasumi was a little reluctant. Although the man in front of her was not changing due to the water, he still had a Jusenkyo curse right? _And it turns him into a girl!_ Ranma sensing tis internal struggle decided to clarify. Some of you may have noticed that I didn't change when hit by water. Now you may be wondering how it happened if I fell into a Jusenkyo spring. It seems that pop didn't explain that I never got cursed. _This got Kasumi's attention. Although she was intent on passing Ranma over to her sisters, her reasons simply hinged on his curse. However the fact that he didn't have one made him almost an acceptable person. He was soft spoken yet powerful. He had an amazing body and he was very thoughtful. Almost emotionally mature._ she added.

Nabiki was simply confused. From what they saw, she was more than likely to believe that Ranma would change but the fact that he didn't, piqued her curiosity. "C-Could you explain how you didn't get cursed?". Ranma looked over to see several faces willing him to go on. His mother's eyes had glazed over and she was staring into space. Ranma simply looked at the group before explaining his immunity. "I am immune.". This led to several questions before Ranma put his hands up to quiet them down. "Jusenkyo curses cannot affect people who have a perfect balance over their physical, mental, spiritual and emotional states. My training in the art made me immune to Jusenkyo. Jusenkyo rewarded me by giving me this red bang. It symbolises my achievement of enlightenment."

"You achieved enlightenment?". If Soun wasn't impressed before, he sure was now. He achieved _enlightenment at his age? Almost impossible for people five times his age yet he achieved it. The proof is that red tuft of hair._ Soun burst into another one man chorus before being quieted down by the four remaining girls.

After this, Natsume went back to her thoughts. _This makes it so much easier than I thought. If I get Ranma to get engaged to me, then I will certainly inherit the dojo. _The thought of inheriting the dojo brought a delighted smile to her eyes, almost like a child having their favourite toy handed over to them. _Definitely a good choice as well! He'll make great arm candy. Akane will never be able to compete. _She internally laughed before looking towards Akane.

Said girl was trying to process her emotions. _I wanted to make sure that I wouldn't get put in this engagement so I could get Ranma. However he is the one my engagement is set for? Maybe this engagement will not be such a bad idea. _Suddenly Akane looked at her father before saying "Father? I would like to express my interest in this engagement.". Soun and Kasumi nearly fainted at this. _My boy hating daughter/sister wants a stake at this engagement?_ Before anything could go any further, Natsume interjects. "No fair Akane. I want him too!". Soun was simply speechless. Would wonders cease to exist? "Wait. I want to give it a shot as well.". This was met by massive facefaults from all the Tendo's. Everyone looked over at Nabiki who was demurely sipping her tea before replying "What? The man's a catch. He's intelligent, honourable and not to mention so hot!" With this, all four girls nodded before looking at their father. Soun was simply shocked. He was under the impression that he would need to force his girls but Ranma had made an incredible impression on his daughters. So much so that the daughters he thought least likely to accept the engagement were the first to express any interest. Just then, Kasumi looked up and added "I think I will also express some interest in this engagement.". Just then, Nerima froze as and looked towards the sky as if some unseen force was drawing them.

At the Tendo dojo, "So Ranma, who do you pick?"

"Before I answer that, could I get the reason for this engagement?". Ranma took another sip of his tea before looking at the shocked girls. All four were under the assumption that they were good looking but having a man question the motives behind the marriage was like an insult to their beauty. Ranma ignored them before saying "It looks to me like these girls could get anyone they wanted. They are all certainly beautiful enough. What I want to understand is why restrict them?". This caused all four girls to blush. Nodoka noticed this before thinking to herself _my son really is a man among men. One compliment has all four girls swooning. Maybe I could get them to agree to share. _

Her thought process was interrupted by Soun's reply. "After our master disappeared, we realised that neither of us knew the full school of Anything Goes. We then decided that we would join our heirs by marriage so that their children could learn the complete school.". Ranma merely raised his eyebrows at everyone present before looking at the Tendo patriarch. "I have no qualms about this marriage but know that as I am a grandmaster of another style, any children would be learning both if they can. Will you be able to accept this?". Soun simply thought for a minute before replying "So long as the schools are joined. It isn't called Anything Goes for nothing."

"Then it's settled. The engagement will be held between me and one of the Tendo girls. However I would first like to get to know them before making a decision. It would be quite rude and rather inconsiderate to take their opinion over my habits."

"Surely since they have consented, you can simply choose."

"I'm afraid it isn't that simple. The acceptance from these girls is due to a first impression and nothing more. I have known your youngest daughters for a week and your oldest even less. I would not want to ruin any girl's life by making them marry someone they would come to hate. It would be incredibly unfair to these girls who all have a lot of life ahead of them.". The four girls in question, all beamed at the way in which this young man was considering their happiness as well as his own. Soun was about to argue but then realised that all that would do was make him a bad father. Deciding that this young man was truly worth giving a chance to; Soun agreed to Ranma's decision.

"I have a few conditions though.". Suddenly the ears of all the family members were pointed at Soun. "You must give each daughter at least an hour a week to get too know them. This could be a date or anything as such."

"That sounds reasonable. I accept the terms. From this day forward, I am now the potential fiancé of one of your girls."

A few hours later

Ranma and Nodoka had just finished coming up with plans. After the little outburst, Ranma decided it would be a good idea to wear some fresh clothes since his yutaka was badly singed from the chest. The girls didn't mind and kept casting looks at the young man's well-toned chest through the hole in his shirt. Ranma couldn't get over the hungry look in the eyes of the four girls and immediately blushed. This led to Nodoka and Soun laughing with all 5 children getting embarrassed.

It was decided that Ranma would stay with the Tendo's whilst Nodoka and Genma would go home. Nodoka also informed Ranma that she would inform his students of the relocation so that he could continue teaching. This clearly shocked the Tendo family since they expected Ranma to be similar to his father. Akane made a mental note to disregard anything Genma did since she knew Ranma wouldn't do it.

Genma came back a few hours later under the assumption that Ranma would have left by now. As he walked towards his room, he heard the sound of his wife and son in the room he was occupying here and was scared by their words. "I tell you mom. A panda skin rug would really make the place look good."

"Ranma, panda skin is so hard to get. How will we get a rug?"

"Don't worry mom. I'm sure dad can help us out.". Genma bolted. After a few seconds, Ranma and Nodoka walked out chuckling at Genma's reaction. "That should teach my foolish husband."

"You said it mom!". Ranma grinned at his mother which caused another round of laughter. Calming down, the pair went downstairs to greet Genma. Genma decided against going in his panda form and instead greeted his wife. He was about to move forward but sensed a cold aura being emanated by both mother and son so decided to keep a safe distance. Walking forward, Nodoka grabbed Genma by the ear before saying "Come on husband and let's leave Ranma to his fiancées.". After wishing the family a good night, Nodoka quickly gave Ranma a kiss on the forehead before promising to send his clothes and other stuff the next day.


	13. A New Home!

Chapter 13: A New Home!

Ranma woke up to a very unfamiliar sight. He was in a large room, _far larger than my room for sure! _and next to him was something soft. Looking to his sides, he noticed both Akane and Natsume next to him. Looking at the clock, he realised that he only had a few minutes to get ready or he wouldn't be able to see the sunrise.

Ranma and the other masters of the temple made this a daily ritual since the death of Tsubasa Hakori, the old master of the temple of the Iron Wolf. In an attempt to save his temple, he fought several bandits in the twilight hours to protect his home. _If only I was awake then. I'm the Iron Fist. I should have been there to help him. It was my duty yet I failed. _In penance, the masters of the temples decided that as a tribute to Hakori sensei; all the masters would watch the sunrise and remember his final stand.

Ranma slipped quietly before climbing out of his window and onto the roof. He didn't have to wait long. After a few seconds, the sun rose from his left. After giving a quick prayer, Ranma stepped down and went to the kitchen. Although the household wouldn't be awake for at least another three hours, Ranma decided to make breakfast. _After all, which guest lets his host do everything for them when they stay over? _Ranma immediately thought of Genma and his face contorted into a grimace.

Ranma shook his head and went to the kitchen. He decided to make something special for breakfast and immediately came up with the idea of French toast. Grabbing the ingredients, he made a stack of sweet toast and another stack of salted. Little did he know that the smell of food had woken up everyone in the Tendo home. Ranma paid no attention as he dusted the stack of sweet toast with sugar before throwing a few strawberries over the stack.

Once he finished, he started to wash the pan he used before taking the dishes to the table with eyes closed. Humming a tune, Ranma quickly jumped over the table, laying it in one leap. After this, he turned around to look at his handiwork to notice the entire Tendo family looking in shock at the pigtailed martial artist. A bit surprised at being caught cooking, Ranma scratched the back of his neck and started chuckling nervously. "I guess the surprise has been revealed. Although I was sure you all would wake up another hour later."

"You made all of this?" asked a shocked Kasumi. Akane and Natsume both had a hard time imagining Ranma being a cook but the evidence in front of them was pretty self-explanatory. Ranma sat down before whispering Itadakimasu. He then started plating food for everyone, taking particular care to ensure that everyone got what he thought they would like. Ranma gave a cursory glance. His Ki-sight was particularly sensitive so he could actually tell the preferences of people at a glance.

He immediately served both sweet and savoury to Soun and Kasumi, served only sweet to Nabiki, and savoury for Akane and Natsume before taking a few sweet ones for himself. After quickly eating, he excused himself and went to the dojo. His mom had packed some of his training gear including his specially designed training suit. He donned the suit and set the rating to 1000 before practising his katas. After finishing their own breakfasts in shocked silence, the entire family split up to do their own activities. "Would you like to spar in the dojo Akane?"

"Sure Natsume. Give me a second to change into my gi.". Akane quickly tore off to change, thinking about how incredible her possible fiancé was. _He cooks as well as Kasumi. In fact I think he may be better than her. _Akane changed into her gi and walked to the dojo. She was a bit confused to see Natsume in front of the dojo simply staring. Akane walked over to the most amazing sight.

Ranma was moving with a passion, grace and dexterity that could only be attained by years of training. His dedication was evident in the focus he put. Akane's eyes shifted from his body to his chest and hands. She noticed that he wasn't wearing his shirt or tank top and the sight that greeted her was so tempting, she almost wanted to lick it. _Stop thinking like that. You are not a pervert!_ She then tried to look anywhere but at Ranma and immediately noticed the beautiful golden bracers on his clothes.

She walked over to see the light shine over an ornate piece of jade with a dragon engraved on it. She tried to lift it but before she could touch it, a burning golden aura burned her hand causing her to topple back. She was about to trip on her feet before Ranma swept her off her feet and put her down on the veranda. He then walked over to the bracers before quickly chanting something in an unknown language. Suddenly the glowing stopped and Ranma tossed the bracers to her. "Sorry about that. Safety feature."

"That's okay Ranma. I shouldn't have touched something that belonged to you.". Akane tried to hide her blush at suddenly being carried off by Ranma. However she managed to just catch the bracers he tossed. She was amazed by the quality of the bracers. They must have weighed five kilos each. She was about to put them down before hearing a shriek from Nabiki. Said girl dropped whatever she was doing to see the bracers. Tapping and prodding the bracers until satisfied, she turned around to Ranma before asking "Where did you get these? That is ten kilos of pure gold and each one is inlaid with quite a sizeable jade carving.". Ranma simply looked annoyed seeing the yen signs popping up in Nabiki's eyes. "It's not for sale."

"What do you mean? This thing is worth a fortune."

"Actually it's a priceless antique over 5000 years old. And no! I'm not willing to part with it.". Nabiki looked crestfallen before suddenly she was surrounded by a burning aura. "I can't let go. HELP!". Ranma simply walked over before grabbing Nabiki's cheek. Suddenly the aura washed over Ranma. For a few minutes, he was being burned before the bracers recognised the master to the dragon temple. Suddenly the aura died and Ranma picked the braces up. He then put on both bracers and took off his weight suit. As he did this, he surrounded himself and everyone with a cooling blue aura which healed their burns.

Suddenly, Soun burst out dressed in full samurai armour and holding a battle spear. Looking around before realising Ranma's aura was visible, Soun immediately took it the wrong way and charged at Ranma. Ranma simply sidestepped and put the weight suit onto the older man whilst dodging the tip of the spear. "Hold this!" he quipped. Suddenly Soun dropped with the wires pulling all his muscles into a fetal position. Everyone was shocked at this. Although the man was thin and out of practise, Soun was the strongest of the Tendo's. The fact that he couldn't move in the suit was shocking. Ranma simply ignored them before looking at Nabiki.

With a stern voice; Ranma started to berate her for thinking of selling those bracers. "They are very dangerous to anyone they don't recognise as worthy of wearing them. I wear those since they are my legacy and will not be sold.".

Suddenly Ranma turned around and grabbed the weight suit, dusted it off and swapped it's setting from 1000 to 0. The suit simply slackened before he put it in a box. Ranma looked back at the group before announcing "I'm going to the furo.". Ranma put the box way before turning around to see a startled Akane. He tried to get around but before he could, Akane asked him a question he really wished she hadn't. "Ranma? What weight did you set the suit?". Ranma noticed the stares before quietly answering "1000 kilos!" before walking leaving a stunned Akane. She would never have imagined someone that powerful existing in the world.

She soon snapped out of it remembering about Ranma going to take a bath. Akane decided that this would be a good way to see her near perfect potential fiancé and see whether he was hiding any 'flaws'. She ignored the 'occupied' sign and walked into the changing room. After removing her clothes and wrapping herself with a towel that barely covered her body, she walked in. What she saw was quite shocking. Unable to tear her eyes away, she looked at the nude Ranma who simply sighed, entered the bath and asked if she wanted to enter. Upon hearing this, she immediately ran into the changing room, hearing Ranma laughing. She almost took this as an insult before realising that he was just teasing. Cursing herself for taking his bait, she walked downstairs with a blush that almost made her face glow.

If her older sisters noticed anything wrong, they didn't comment. After 10 minutes, Ranma walked down wearing a new pair of clothes. "Akane, the furo is free. Oh and next time you want to join me, just ask.". Kasumi simply stared whilst Nabiki's jaw dropped. Natsume simply fumed at the thought that Ranma and Akane were apparently getting 'that close'. Akane simply stared at the ground as her blush grew even more, something Ranma thought couldn't happen.

The rest of the day passed quite uneventfully for Nerima. Aside from getting a package from his mom containing his training gear, the dojo equipment he bought and all his clothes, nothing really happened. Ranma once again demonstrated his excellent cooking skills by making Shu Mai and a pork stir fry for dinner. After a great meal, he decided to spend the next hour getting to know a bit more about Kasumi. Ranma noticed the level of discomfort she had to intimacy before marriage, but she surprised him by grabbing his arm with her own as he washed dishes. Seeing his kind smile, she resisted the urge to melt in his arms. _How have I not tried to do anything with him yet? He is almost perfect and if I am reading Akane properly, he must really take under his name. Wild Horse! Quite appropriate. _Once the dishes were washed and the kitchen cleaned, Ranma spent the next hour setting up the dojo before going deciding to go to bed early. As he sat in his futon, he quietly thought about how tomorrow was going to be before drifting off to sleep.


	14. Thoughts!

Chapter 14: Thoughts!

Ranma managed to sleep for a few minutes but as soon as his mind relaxed, he started to think. From past experience, he knew it was futile to attempt sleep when he was thinking. Although most of the masters continuously teased him for his ability to almost turn his brain on and off, he was secretly proud of this ability. This meant that it was possible to use his instincts to their fullest potential whilst having a usable battle plan.

Right now, he was thinking about how he should treat each of the Tendo girls. His thoughts started to organise themselves in a familiar pattern. _First Kasumi!_ Ranma started to think about the oldest daughter and how her aura seemed almost dead. _She seems to be an emotional mask. It doesn't suit her. I can sense her mischievous nature being suppressed by a forced kind and friendly disposition. She deserves to be taken care of rather than sacrificing herself for others. It is like she has replaced her mother in the eyes of her family. She is being taken advantage of but she tolerates it._

Ranma's thoughts then drifted to how she reacted to his cooking and taking care of the family for the first time. _I can't believe someone could be so cruel as to do something so bad to such a sweet girl. To ruin her sense of self to the point that she almost feels like if she loses her family duties, she would become redundant. _Ranma mentally cursed himself for not being here and letting his dad add to that stress. _At least, when she heard me offer her a break and a chance for someone to take care of her for a bit, she got a little better. _

_Her attitude changed for the better when I helped out and looked after her. She was forced to become a mother too early when she needed someone to comfort her. Even if I'm not her fiancé, I will make sure she finds someone to take care of her. _Ranma started to think of what possibly attracted Kasumi to him. _If what I'm thinking is correct, she simply expressed interest in this arrangement since she thought that someone who could cause all three of her sisters to express their interest was worthy of merit. That must have changed though after I started talking to her._

Ranma continued to ponder about when she started to feel attraction to him. His Ki-sight was beneficial for this as it allowed him to recognise the changing feelings. _That's it. She was interested in medicine and was impressed by my healing abilities and shiatsu knowledge. I must remind her of Dr Tofu. From what I've heard, she prefers mature, older men with intense medical knowledge. Two out of three is good but I shouldn't take her away when I know someone who is better. But to get them together is going to be a problem due to that weird shiatsu point that Dr Tofu's seems to have been put under. I'll need to release him from it and then they can finally be happy._

After vowing to himself silently to help Kasumi and Dr Tofu, Ranma started thinking about his other possible fiancées. _I haven't actually spent as much time with Nabiki as the rest which could be a problem. Her reaction almost seems as if she was settling with the first option that was being dangled in front of her. _Ranma hoped it wasn't about this. He would be very disappointed if that was the only reason. _However thinking about it, she started to feel some form of physical attraction when we first met. _

Ranma shuddered to think of what might happen if Nabiki became one of those girls who kept drooling every time he opened his mouth or moved. _She is very headstrong which is very attractive. I hope she doesn't lose that. _Deciding that he needed to analyse her aura before he could make a judgement; Ranma used his father's Umi Sen Ken to make himself invisible. Once he disguised himself, he snuck into the living room to see the entire family discussing about him. Quickly tuning out their chatter; he activated his Ki-sight, causing his eyes to turn silver. What he saw surprised him. It seemed that both Nabiki and Akane had feelings for him. Ranma turned around and went back into his room to further analyse his situation.

After entering his room, Ranma dropped the Umi Sen Ken before lying on his futon. _Her attraction is emotional as well. When did that happen? _Ranma started to think back before hitting himself on the head. _Duh! I saved her life and asked for nothing in return. But this attraction is more towards my action than any actual feelings towards me. I'll have to wait for a bit before thinking about Nabiki. _

Ranma then swapped over to Akane. Ranma briefly chuckled at some of the situations he ended up in with her. He started to mull things over to understand what was going up in her head. _Akane is very cute. That's not saying much though since all the girls are good looking though. However her confident aura is very enticing and attractive. Her anger and embarrassment is also fun to play with but I shouldn't do it often. She is clearly sensitive. _

Ranma sighed before getting back to his thoughts. _She seems to have a crush on me. This is a little annoying though since from what I heard from Dr Tofu, she used to have a crush on him as well. Am I simply the fall back option since I'm similar to the doctor? No! She simply realised that her crush was never going to bring fruit so shifted her attentions to someone more attainable. _Ranma briefly felt a pang of resentment at being a rebound before realising that Akane had so much boy trouble that the fact she now had a crush on him was a real compliment. _I should give her a chance. She and Nabiki are very good potential options._

Ranma was quite pleased with his progress with the situation and decided that another fifteen minutes or so should help him fully organise a plan about his new situation. After deciding his next move, he will have to ask Kuno about it. Although most people didn't realise it due to the months of delusion they experienced after witnessing it, Kuno was extremely level headed and an honourable friend. _Just as long as he doesn't eat any more food that his sister makes! That girl was just plain crazy. I can't believe that she attempted to drug her own brother so she could have him as a possession. It was a good thing Kuno was there when I got lost. _Ranma shuddered at the thought of the look she gave him when they first met. _I swear that I am going to have to find a way to get away from that psycho._

Ranma was very surprised when he looked at Kuno's aura when he first came over. Somehow, it changed from when he analysed it at school the previous day. At that instant, he immediately reverted to his deluded self. Ranma almost took it as a multiple personality disorder but realised that it was more like a drug when he took a closer look. After hitting a few shiatsu points, the influence of the drugs immediately receded and he acted like the sane self he presented yesterday at the tree.

After this, Ranma questioned Kuno about who gave him his meals. When he heard it was his sister, he almost completely rejected his previous hypothesis about the drug being placed in his food. However before he could dismiss the idea, Kuno was becoming curious as to what his new friend was looking so worried about. After hearing about being in an almost constant state of being drugged for so long, Kuno immediately accused Kodachi. Ranma was shocked when he heard this accusation until he heard that Kodachi was a botanist with considerable skills with poisons.

After hearing this, he told Kuno to make sure to make Kodachi taste what she gave to him. After asking her to do this a few times, Kodachi quickly came to the conclusion that her brother dearest had found out about being drugged and suspected her. Realising that her previous way of controlling her brother was compromised, she decided she should try to come up with a new method. Although she was confident with her combat skills, she knew she was no match against her brother when he wasn't drugged by her. _I bet she didn't really want a confrontation. However she really deserved what Kuno did afterwards. _

Ranma remembered Kuno asking him for a method to keep her calm since he was under the impression that some of her drugs were affecting her. Ranma agreed and soon realised that Kodachi must have been testing her drugs on herself as well. After removing the effects of the drugs, they thought she returned to some semblance of sanity before they realised that she was actually crazier without them, so they increased the dosage as she slept.

Ranma suddenly realised he was off topic and berated himself before thinking about the last potential fiancée. _Natsume! Something is really off about the way she acted. She clearly doesn't feel any current attraction to me. Her aura makes that obvious enough. However what surprises me is the amount of resentment and jealousy in her aura. She may just want me since she is jealous of Akane. However it seems more like there is an ulterior motive. I need to keep an eye on her and find out a bit more about the engagement. _

Ranma yawned. Realising that he spent a considerable amount of time thinking about the situation, he decided he had done enough thinking before lying down. Soon he fell into a deep sleep with all thoughts forgotten.


	15. A Bitter Truth!

Chapter 15: A Bitter Truth!

Ranma woke up the next day to a rather unusual feeling. He woke up to see a mop of short brown hair and feeling two small lumps on his chest. If that wasn't bad enough, he realised that he didn't sleep with his tank top last night and this girl, who he just realised was a sleeping Nabiki, was lying on his naked chest. Suddenly unable to take the situation any longer, Ranma simply screamed and all hell broke loose.

Kasumi and Soun burst into the room, eyes wide awake expecting some incredible danger, before looking to see Ranma in an incredibly incriminating situation. Soun was about to shout something before realising Ranma's obvious discomfort in this situation and the clear shock going through the young man's mind. Deciding that he wasn't at fault 'yet'; Soun and Kasumi lifted a rather content Nabiki off of Ranma but not before hearing her mutter something about Ranma that caused all conscious members of the family to blush. Just then Kasumi started to giggle as they realised that Ranma had broken out into a full body blush. Ranma simply looked embarrassed at the situation before muttering obscenities under his breath.

Ranma walked over to the window and jumped to the roof. He arrived five minutes later to see both Soun and Kasumi look over at him expecting an explanation. Ranma quickly started babbling about how he had no clue what happened whilst constantly reiterating the point that he only reserved such contact for his wife and no one else. He was about to continue his ramblings before noticing a snicker passing along Soun's face. "WHAT THE HELL IS SO FUNNY? YOU THINK I ENJOYED NABIKI BEING SO CLOSE? LET ME REMIND YOU HOW BAD THE SITUATION WOULD BE IF SOMETHING HAPPENED.". This snapped Soun out of his laughter and caused him to assess the boy in front of him. "Ranma, I have no doubt that you would be faithful. In fact, your reaction to the situation proved how honourable you are."

"How so?"

"I'm surprised you don't see it Ranma. After all, most teenage boys who would be in such a situation would immediately take advantage of the situation. However instead of doing that, you immediately panicked whether or not you did something like that to someone. Not only that but you practically screamed when you thought you might have done that …". Kasumi was cut off by Ranma before she could finish.

"WHO THE HELL IN THE RIGHT MIND WONT? YOU CAN'T SERIOUSLY BE TELLING ME THAT THERE ARE THAT MANY PERVERTS OUT THERE!"

"Actually, most teenage boys would have actually used that situation as a means of bragging and possibly might have even used blackmail. The fact that you wouldn't shows your immense respect to women and that means you truly are honourable enough that you deserve our trust."

"Please don't. I did nothing. Though the fact that so many perverts exist makes my skin crawl.". Ranma visibly shivered. Kasumi simply laughed before replying "Welcome to every girl's nightmare. Honestly though Ranma. You're something else you know."

"Thanks Kasumi. I appreciate the compliment but I don't think I am anything special.". _I can't believe how modest he is. He is practically a role model for all boys everywhere. _Kasumi thought as she looked with admiration at the young man in front of her. Meanwhile Soun was having similar thoughts. _I truly made the right decision when I decided to make the engagement all those years ago. I was worried that I had made a mistake. He IS Genma's son after all and Genma did take the master's teachings more seriously than I did. But Ranma is truly a good man. He is a powerful martial artist and the exact opposite of the master. He is truly a blessing to our family. _Little did Soun realise that all his little thought did was tempt fate to intervene in this perfect moment.

Just then; Akane, Natsume and Nabiki woke up to find themselves hugging each other quite intimately. Needless to say it didn't end well with all three girls about to make a rush at each other. Ranma immediately intervened by exerting his already impressive aura up another notch effectively paralysing all three girls in seconds. Ranma suddenly realised the state of dress of all three girls before turning around muttering about nothing being worth 3 half naked girls fighting over him. The girls in question looked at themselves before realising that the man they were trying to seduce had seen all of them. Part of them was ashamed and surprisingly excited that they were found in such a compromising state of dress, another part depressed at the lack of reaction from the pigtailed boy and a third part nervous about how to handle the situation.

Just then, Ranma spoke quickly. "You girls get ready for school. You're getting late.". Looking at the clock; the girls hurriedly took a bath before changing into their uniforms. After a quick breakfast, they were about to run to school when they noticed the absence of a certain pigtailed martial artist. "Ranma? Aren't you coming to school?"

"No Akane. My current level of education means that I am entitled to three days off from school. I was given this time to keep up with my actual level of knowledge so that I could ensure I am able to do well in college. This means I don't attend on Saturday, Sunday and Monday.". All three girls were surprised. They heard that Ranma was smart enough that he was made the teaching assistant for almost every class. However they didn't realise the extent of his knowledge.

The only subject he wasn't made assistant was music appreciation but that was immediately disregarded since he didn't have much time to get any exposure to music during his training journey. He was very talented at playing the guitar though and it was quite surprising when the school said they were unwilling to put him in music class. However they seemed to all agree with letting him enter Home Economics. Akane remembered that quite vividly.

Now if this wasn't bad enough to Ranma, it turned out that it was a compulsory class for girls and no boys in school were allowed aside from him. This caused him to be envied by all the boys in the school and for a time being scared some of the girls who weren't familiar with the fact that their pigtailed dreamboat was an accomplished cook. This soon changed when Ranma was asked to demonstrate his cooking skill by making a cake.

Ranma made the most beautiful French cake they had ever seen. It was a cone made of cream filled pastries held together with caramel and covered with caramel swirls. The girls were mesmerised by the way the young man's hands moved with such speed and precision. Once the cake was made, Ranma cut it into pieces and served it to all students present. He then served a piece to the teacher and awaited their opinion. The class was shocked at the taste of the food. It wasn't that it was horrible. Far from it in fact. The food was something they expected in fancy restaurants and the fact that this young man could make food like this caused an uproar in the school. Most of the boys had started teasing Ranma for being able to cook. This included a situation at lunch.

Ranma was about to eat when he realised that someone had taken his bento. Now under normal circumstances he would have had enough money to buy lunch at the cafeteria. However on the day, he had to leave most of his cash at home since he would need change when he reopened the dojo. Most of the girls were thanking every god they could think of for giving them a chance to get closer to Ranma. However before they could do anything, Ranma was walking towards the home economics room. "Hello Takeda-sensei. Would it be possible for me to make some lunch here? I seem to have left my lunch at home."

"Sure Ranma. I'll let you do so. I was just about to do the same. How about we make a dish each and try each-others? I want to see whether your skills also translate to savoury dishes."

"No problem sensei. I would be honoured."

Most of the guys were about to start laughing when they heard Ranma was about to start cooking, but were immediately shut up when they noticed nearly half of Furinkan's female population crowding around the home economics room. Suddenly they caught Ranma smirking at them before turning around to start cooking. Akane's thoughts continued as such as she walked.

Back in the present, Ranma watched as Akane and co were walking over to school before waiting for a few minutes to ensure they didn't forget anything. Once he was sure they wouldn't be coming back, he turned around to find Kasumi. He knew Mr Tendo would be able to help him better but he didn't like the thought of accusing the Tendo patriarch's daughters in front of him. _Definitely not a good idea! Especially if the man is your future father-in-law!_ Ranma snapped out of this thought before finding Kasumi in the kitchen.

Ranma took a deep breath before he entered. Kasumi gave a quick greeting and was about to turn back to her work before seeing the look in Ranma's face. Seeing that this might be serious, Kasumi dusted off her apron and sat down at the table. Ranma looked at Kasumi before pulling up a chair and sitting down. After a few seconds of silence, Ranma broke it by diving into his question. "Kasumi? Why is Natsume jealous of Akane?"

"What?". That oblivious mask Kasumi kept wearing dropped immediately and she stared at Ranma with worry. "I noticed that she is jealous of Akane and somehow I think she intends to use the engagement as revenge. I want to know why.". Kasumi couldn't help but get worried. She thought this had sorted itself 4 years ago but if Natsume still holds a grudge, then it would break the family apart. "Ranma, this has to do with the reason we adopted Natsume and Kurumi."

"I'm listening!"

"You see, 4 years ago Natsume and Kurumi came to our house looking for daddy. When they saw him, they immediately hugged him and called him their father. At first all of us were angry thinking he had an affair. However we decided to hear the girls out. They told us that they had been searching for their parents for years before they were met by an old man who told them that they were the daughters of Soun Tendo and the heirs to the Tendo dojo. That man turned out to be daddy's master. When we heard this, he realised that his master intended for him to adopt the girls. However he had already picked Akane as the heir. To prevent any fighting between us, he issued a challenge that day saying that the first of the two heirs to get married would inherit the dojo. After that statement, the two of them started fighting a lot. Then when they started high school, they kept getting challenged by that Kuno boy until one day, Akane helped Natsume when she was in a difficult situation. Since then, we assumed they made up."

"Well they haven't. I am sure that Natsume is still trying to get the dojo. In fact, after hearing this story, I am more than convinced that Natsume doesn't just want the dojo; she wants to humiliate Akane as well."

"Oh my! What do we do?". Ranma thinks for a minute before replying "We remove the dojo from the equation.". Ranma whispered his plan into Kasumi's ear for the next few minutes. On hearing his plan, Kasumi's face twisted from her mask to a shocked look to a mischievous grin. "So will you help?"

"I'll do it."

"Good. We'll start tomorrow."


	16. Kurumi's Introspection Part 1!

_Author's notes: It was recently pointed out to me by one of the readers that there is an inconsistency in chapter 11. I would like to apologise to you all and explain that between the Ranma's explanation of Yuuki's and Kaito's actions, and Kurumi's decision; there is a gap of a few hours. I have corrected chapter 11 and hope that this sorts out any problems with understanding the plot. Now back to the story._

Chapter 16: Kurumi's Introspection Part 1!

Kurumi was lying in bed. _So much happened since I left. I can't believe how much I could learn. Mom and dad are amazing martial artists. If only they would have taught us themselves or if we met Ranma, no Master Ranma earlier. He gave me my own purpose, my parents and a home. My own home!_ She was feeling giddy at the thought. _I just wish I didn't leave on such bad terms with big sis. _

#Flashback#

It was just after the explanation of her heritage. Kurumi was dumbfounded. _I finally know! My heritage! My family legacy! My future! All of it is in front of me and I can take it. _"I hope you have learnt your lesson and will return to your temples, taking your respective daughters of course.". The words rung in her head. Hearing the malice in his tone of voice, she immediately knew that her parents were going to be severely punished. Her chance of finally getting to be with her parents could just be crushed by the punishment Ranma decided to impart.

"Nooooooooooooooo! Please don't punish them.". Suddenly Kurumi found herself between Ranma and her parents. _What was I thinking? I don't stand a chance against him. Even with my weapon he could beat me. What chances do I … No! I will have to stand up for them even if I lose. _Her thoughts were interrupted by Natsume. "WHAT! HOW COULD YOU LET THEM GET AWAY WITH WHAT THEY DID TO US?". Soon her voice quieted down to a whisper before she asked "After all that happened to us, how can you forgive them?"

"Natsume?". Kurumi started sniffling and it was clear to Ranma that she was on the verge of tears. "We have a chance to be with our real parents. A chance to be happy. A chance to not have to pretend like we don't know the truth about the Tendo's …"

"Well I don't care.". Turning to face Yuuki and Kaito; she gave her birth parents an icy glare which gave chills to even Nabiki, the self-styled "Ice Queen of Furinkan High". "You left us there to fend for ourselves when I was just 7. Who leaves a 7 year old to look after her 3 year old sister all alone? Who abandons them and makes them feel unloved and unimportant?". As she voiced these questions, tears started flowing down her face. Kurumi could literally hear her heart break at these words. She had always assumed that her sister was only pretending to be strong but to see how deeply the feelings ran?

"I-I-I know sis. They d-d-did wrong b-but t-they did it o-out of l-love". Kurumi was desperately trying to maintain control of her emotions. _Why now? It would have been so much easier had we have not known. But then we would always wonder, always feel like we didn't belong. Did Ranma do this so we could find ourselves?_ She had always had a low opinion of boys but considering her age, it was quite understandable. She simply didn't have any exposure to them. After seeing Ranma though, she could conclude that there are truly some saints among the horde of perverts that Natsume and Akane kept talking about. _I mean who else would bring back our parents to us and give us a chance. He is even giving us a place as students in his school. _

"WHAT KIND OF LOVE IS KICKING US OUT OF THEIR LIVES TO LIVE ALONE? I WILL NOT FORGIVE THEM EVER. THEY DESERVE TO DIE IN A HOLE AND WHEN THEY DO, I'LL BE SPITTING ON THEIR GRAVE?"

"NATSUME!". All of the Tendo's and Ranma were quite shocked at having heard Kasumi shout. It was easy for Ranma to see that Kasumi was a very gentle person so the fact that she shouted was about pleasant as a bomb going off in your home. "I understand that you are angry but I will not tolerate anyone speaking like that about their family. Though I agree that they almost rival Genma in stupidity.". Most of the people present merely nodded at this.

Ranma looked at the pair of part-time parents and asked "Is this about their possible treatment at the temple?". The others looked at the two masters wondering what Ranma meant. When greeted with just silence, Ranma gave a cold stare at them. "You could have protected them you know. Or even better yet you could have asked grandpa to train them. You know he hates that and he would have been happy to help. Instead you chose the coward's way out."

"How could you say that? We didn't have a choice since Master Genryu was training you at the time." Yuuki replied hotly.

"He came every month and you didn't have a choice? You could have asked him several times but every time, you dodged it.". Ranma was finding it difficult to keep his voice level with the way Yuuki was acting and was seriously considering attacking the proud, almost to the point of vanity, master in front of him. As if sensing the intent, Kurumi waved her hands begging Ranma to stop. "Please! Don't.". Ranma sighed before coming in front of Kurumi. He dropped onto his knees and put the distraught girl's arms down before carefully trying to calm her down, making what he hoped were soothing noises.

_Oh god how do I deal with this. This is getting a bit too emotional. Please don't cry. God dammit why do I always feel so helpless when they cry? _Most people couldn't see the young man's inability to deal with crying women since he was making a herculean effort to comfort the crying girl in front of her. Kurumi could since she could feel the muscles shuddering as he hugged her. This just made her cry even more as she realised how wrong she was about this man. Slowly she stopped before looking at Ranma and smiling. After wiping her eyes, she whispered a quick thank you and they both looked towards the shocked faces of the people surrounding them.

The welcome silence was then broken up by Natsume's ranting. "These are our parents? They stand still when their daughter breaks down and another person, who is a complete stranger, has to comfort her?" she questioned incredulously. "NATSUME!". This time it was Ranma who spoke and everyone present shivered as they heard the tone in his voice, almost guaranteeing pain to anyone who so much as even thought they could speak out. Suddenly the very air around Ranma started to condense as he said "I'm warning you. If you speak like this again, I will be forced to attack. I don't deny that what happened to you is regrettable but let me remind you that I am the grandmaster of the school under which they study and as they are **my** students, it is **my **responsibility to ensure that they are punished. I know your opinion and will take it into account but until then you will shut up and stay that way."

"But …". Her sentiments were immediately cut short as a red and black blur came forward with fingers outstretched merely a millimetre away from the young girl's throat. However what made her voice die down so soon was in fact the stare that he carried. Those deep blue eyes he had were completely devoid of the warmth and life she used to see every day and instead in its place was cold fury. "I will not be making any punishments yet since I do not know the extent of your feelings though I get the gist."

"Thank you Ranma-san."

"Wait!". Ranma looked around to see an irate Natsume, something Ranma hadn't seen since he fought her the first time. "What is it Natsume?". Natsume looked incredulous. "If you think I am going with them, you must be mistaken. They abandoned us when we were younger. Mr Tendo has been a better parent than the both of them put together. I refuse to go.". Kurumi simply looked stunned whilst Yuuki and Kaito looked shamefaced. "Kurumi? Would you like to comment?". Kurumi simply looked at Ranma with surprise. _She was being asked for her opinion. Normally her opinion was simply overlooked and Natsume's was taken. However she was being offered a chance._ "I want to go with my parents. Although I can't blame Natsume, I don't want to lose them again."

"I respect your decision and would be happy to welcome you to my school.". Ranma walks over to Kurumi before touching her forehead with his right thumb. Suddenly her eyes flashed white before she fell to her knees breathing hard. Natsume, Yuuki and Kaito were about to interrupt before Ranma's battle aura shone and kept the trio still. After catching her breath, Kurumi got up and looked at Ranma before asking "What did you do?". Ranma simply smiled before replying "I converted your water Ki to fire Ki. Now you will be able to study your mother's sacred art."

"Really?". Kurumi was practically pleading for this to be true. However seeing the smile as Ranma confirmed it was practically a blessing from the Kami themselves. Rushing forward, she immediately hugged Ranma before walking back to her parents. Turning around, she looked at Natsume before asking "Are you sure you don't want to come?". Natsume simply sighed. "I wouldn't be able to live as if none of this ever happened. I'm sorry Kurumi."

"It's ok Natsume. Just know that I wish for you to be happy."

"I will. Come back soon little sis.". Beaming at her older sister, Kurumi simply replies "I will." before turning to her parents and walking towards them.

#End Flashback#

_Yes I left smiling but I could tell from her eyes that she didn't like my decision. But how could I stay? _One part of her was complaining that Natsume became both a mother and father for her. The other part knew however that both wanted to find a place to belong and if it meant that she would have to leave, then she would. She knew the dojo would never truly be hers since it Natsume was more likely to simply keep her as a partner. _The dojo was where she belonged. I just hope she gets to be where she belongs like I did._

With this, Kurumi's thoughts turned to how her life had changed as she left with her parents.


	17. Kurumi's Introspection Part 2!

Chapter 17: Kurumi's Introspection Part 2!

#Flashback#

Kurumi, Yuuki and Kaito were well on their way to the temple. At the moment, the trio were blurs, moving with incredible speed and grace. Every once in a while, Kaito and Yuuki would stop and recharge. _It has been a long time since they practised the art and the fact that daddy needs to carry me doesn't make it any easier. What's impressive though is that he still keeps up with mommy._

Kurumi knew she was only a novice martial artist and though she had spent a majority of her life training on the road, she was still not trained well enough to possess any of the speed that her parents or even Ranma had attained. Normally she would attempt to argue but since the temple was all the way in the Iga. Thus she resigned herself to being carried by her father. However it didn't mean she couldn't sulk. "How long till we get there?"

"I'm not sure! It's been a long time since we were last there. Kaito?"

"Well we did come from Nerima so I would assume that had we have been at our best, it would take us another 10 minutes. But taking into account our current state, I would say maybe an hour."

"Ok daddy. So when will I learn to run like that?". Yuuki answered this question. "Honestly, we have no idea about how your current Ki levels will fare compared to the other practitioners. We will need to look at the acolytes at the temple to estimate how far they have progressed before you start the foundations. At least we know that had it have been the previous training regime, you would have been ready.". Kurumi smiled at this. From what she heard, Ranma became the next heir to the title of grand mastery quite early in life. _He was 5 when he was deemed ready to start his training. _This made her feel a little disappointed as both spent most of their lives training but she could also argue that he was trained for an ultimate style since birth so the gap in their power was excusable.

"I think we should go now. Otherwise we won't be able to speak to Master Genryu."

"Daddy? Who is master Genryu?"

"Sweetie, Master Genryu was the previous grandmaster of the Iron Zodiac and thus a master of all our forms. He is also Ranma's grandfather and an emissary on Ranma's behalf if he ever needs to get in contact with the temples."

"I think it's time to go. Okay Kurumi! You are going to be carried by me now so that daddy can get some rest."

"Okay mommy!"

For the next half an hour; no one spoke. The only sounds were of her parents' footfalls and their laboured breathing. After around 40 minutes, they finally came to a stop. Looking around, all Kurumi could see was a forest. However there was something calling out to her, a feeling which she never experienced, a feeling that made her feel safe and loved and she knew that she made the right choice. She belonged here and Ranma knew it. _Kami the next time I see that pigtailed pervert I'm gonna hug his lights out._ The group walked forward until they reached a clearing with Kurumi looking in shock at the massive ornate wooden gate still standing like a beacon through time. Yuuki and Kaito just kept chuckling; their thoughts on the same level. _First timers!_

Kurumi was excited. She wanted to burst in through the gate but before she could, Yuuki simply walked over and with a single hand, pushed open the large gate with as much effort as if it were a paperweight. Kurumi was bouncing on her feet. _It's a miracle that she isn't bouncing off into the stratosphere. _thought Kaito. He couldn't wait to begin his daughter's training. He knew that she wouldn't learn his style. He was prepared for that. _Although the Iron Zodiac appeared to be 12 different styles, the styles all use Ki enhancement techniques alongside with combat training. I may not be able to teach her my elemental attacks but I sure as hell can help speed up her training. _With that thought, he swore to himself that he would be the father he never was. "Let's go!"

The trio walked up the steps to get to the temple. "Originally, to get to the temples, you had to scale the mountain. However, after some time, a natural staircase was found at the southern gate so it was fixed.". Yuuki didn't know whether there would be any use for this almost useless fact for her daughter. However she thought that it would be nice for Kurumi to get to know her new home a little better.

At the 800th step, there was a sound. All three looked up to see a pair of 2 boys seemingly levitating a baton above the little girl. The 8 year old was desperately trying to end this humiliating game of 'piggy in the middle' but the 12 year olds had the advantage. Kaito and Yuuki were seething at the view but couldn't act since they were masters and this meant that their abilities could greatly hurt the acolytes before them.

Kurumi noticed this but realised that since she was also an acolyte, she could help. Rushing forward, she tackled the boy levitating the baton. Caught off guard; he was thrown backwards, releasing the baton with the boy flying back. However it seemed as if the boy was an aerial specialist so simply did a mid-air flip and landing on his feet, slightly harder than if he had timed it himself. Handing the baton to the girl, the girl simply turned around and whipped it quickly. The resulting wind blades rained down on both boys and blasting the in the air. Both boys were about to retaliate but noticed the two masters present and decided against doing anything.

The girl turned around to Kurumi and thanked her. The group simply headed towards the temples. "Honestly you are the nicest pedigree I have ever seen."

"Pedigree?". Kurumi was confused and a little insulted at the term. "Who are you calling a pedigree? How dare you insult me by calling me a dog?". Realising quickly that this girl was new and didn't understand the concept, the girl explained. "Over here, people who need to use elementals are called mongrels. It is used to refer to their mixed Ki's. Those who don't need them have taken to calling themselves pedigrees and prancing about as if they are all powerful since they have conscious control over their powers."

"That is awful. How can people do that?"

"It happens a lot here sweetie. It was why we were worried. At the time, Natsume was already shy enough so we were worried about the toll it would have on her. The kids here can be quite brutal to those who use elementals.". Kaito was visibly emitting a cold aura at this. He didn't like the segregation at all. His brother was born with weak Ki and was constantly harassed. This made him so mad at times when he saw it. _I think it was actually the reason me and Yuuki ever became an item._ Kurumi screamed in outrage. "THIS IS ABSURD. WHO ARE THEY TO PASS JUDGEMENT? YOU BEAT THEM IN SECONDS AND YOU USE AN ELEMENTAL SO THEY SHOULD JUST BUZZ OFF!"

"Calm down miss. Anyways my name is Wendy. Could we be friends?". Kurumi took a few deep breaths before replying "I am Kurumi and yes we can be friends."

#End Flashback#

Kurumi smiled at the thoughts of her first friend in her new home. Thoughts however quickly flashed to the training. _I swear I now have a new found respect for Ranma. I can't believe he actually learnt all of this so early in his life._ Kurumi remembered the sessions of intense sparring with her mother, her Ki training and meditation with her father and her studies of the philosophies of the temples under grandpa Genryu. It was brutal but she enjoyed it.

The first night she started, she was so tired that she just fell asleep. However after she finished her second day, she realised she couldn't ignore the rather ripe smell coming from her body. Deciding to take a dip in the hot springs, she grabbed a towel and some soaps before going towards the stairs. As she walked down the steps to the valley in between the twelve temples, she started whistling a tune almost unable to wait for the relaxation that would come from immersing herself in the water.

She was shocked at the sight that unfolded her as she approached. At first she assumed that there would be a single, large hot spring, which would have a designated area for men and women. This was clearly not the case as she saw several dozen pools of water with men and women mixed in. It was clear that none of the people minded showing their bodies to the people. _After all; the training we do makes it hard for our bodies not to look good. _she quietly thought.

Suddenly she saw a young boy being carried off by a group of girls. Kurumi would have ignored this at first glance thinking a pervert had just been caught but when she heard the taunts of "mongrel", she quickly followed. What greeted her was an unpleasant sight of the 6 or so young girls throwing this young man in a faraway, concealed hot spring filled with another 12 or so people and left taunting him. Once they left, Kurumi walked down and helped the boy up before asking him to explain what happened. The boy just sat up and explained. "I used to be the most powerful earth Ki adept in the temples. However these guys realised that I used elementals that looked like a pair of combat gloves. They didn't like this and started treating calling me a mongrel. Even my friends!"

"This is a pain. I can't believe anyone would do anything like this. Who does this to their friends?"

"Why would you care? You're a pedigree. Hanging out with me will ruin your reputation." the boy replied with sorrow laced in his voice. "My reputation as a martial artist will be ruined if I don't act to get rid of these stupid rules. But what I don't understand is that you are clearly stronger than they are so why not fight?"

"The masters don't permit us to take our elementals here since some can be damaged near water.". Just then the two boys that Kurumi first met burst out of the clearing grinning madly. "So which girl should we take today bro?" the first asked in a sickeningly perverted voice. Kurumi looked at the girls and realised that some had bad bruises on their bodies. Kurumi shivered in anger before blurring forward and launching a devastating Ki enhanced kick. The kick launched the first boy up 10 metres in the air before she heard a shout of 'Air Palm'. Kurumi channelled her enormous Ki reserves and pushed to dodge the concentrated wind Ki hurtling at her. _Damn. I haven't had enough training in using elemental Ki yet. All I can do is body augmentation. _

She was snapped out of her thoughts as she sensed an attack from behind and quickly dodged before grabbing her second opponent's over extended wrist and throwing him into the hot spring head first, where a group of girls seeing the opportunity started pounding the unfortunate pervert into the ground. Meanwhile her first opponent landed with a quick smirk and a flourish before being punted in the head across to one of the temple as far away as possible from the remaining people.

Turning around, she immediately walked into a bush and emerged a few minutes later having changed behind, before entering the hot spring before the others could protest. Looking up, all she could see was disbelief before all present had broken into grins. Once again she thanked the stars for Ranma helping her find home.

Meanwhile in Nerima

"Everyone, I have an announcement."


	18. Master vs Master!

Chapter 18: Master vs. Master!

"Everyone, I have an announcement."

"Huh!" came the unintelligible reply from all present at the table. Ignoring them, Ranma continued. "It has been brought to my attention that the dowry for this engagement is the Tendo dojo. I am unwilling to accept this as dowry and thus will not marry any of your daughters.". The reactions elicited were incredibly funny to a certain Kasumi Tendo. She had long ago succumbed to the menial duties of a housewife and hid her natural mischievous nature, something which Ranma was unwilling to let slide.

_He really cares about the real me, not this façade I carry around. He truly likes me for me. Oh my!_ Suddenly conscious of how she was thinking about her possible fiancé, she blushed. However no one noticed as they were shocked at Ranma's statement. Nabiki was looking with hearts in her eyes. _Not only is he smart and hot, but he also knows the value of money._

Akane was seething at the thought that her dojo was being bad mouthed since it was where she grew up. _How dare he? He is just a greedy bastard. How could he do this? _Whilst Akane continued to unconsciously clench and unclench her fists, Natsume simply couldn't but smirk. _If I marry him now, not only will I get the dojo but I would get even more than Akane. I'll finally have my home._

Seeing the shocked and angry looks Akane was giving off, Ranma decided to continue. "It is not that the dojo itself is bad. It is more that I already have 12 dojos and am in no particular need of a new one. It would be needless as all I would really want is one of your daughters if I were to accept the engagement.". This was met by a more relaxed outlook. Mr Tendo was still a bit worried but recognised that this wasn't an insult. However; he was a bit worried about what he could give to this man that would be worthy of a dowry. "What would you like for your dowry son? I cannot let you marry one of my daughters without giving you one. It would be improper."

"Well I wouldn't say no to the Tendo scrolls!" Ranma said in a slightly sing-song voice. Now this shocked the remainder of the group. Even Kasumi didn't know about this. "What?" he replied rather apprehensively. Ranma crossed his arms over before pouting and turned away before muttering about how people never taking him seriously. Soon, the silence broke when Mr Tendo started crying saying how the schools would finally be joined. Ranma simply turned around and walked away.

A few minutes later

Ranma was in the dojo. He looked at the clock on the wall. Noticing that it was only half past 7, he was confident he would get another few hours of training in before he needed to go to sleep. Sighing, he prepared to get back to his katas before sensing a presence. Although he could, he didn't need to use his Ki-sight to tell that the man behind him was Soun Tendo. Deciding to amuse his possible father-in-law, he began an intense Saotome School kata.

Soun looked dumbstruck. He couldn't believe the abilities of this young man. _He has surpassed even Genma at his peak. I would lose if I fought him. _Ranma smirked whilst having the same this thought and landed. "Mr Tendo!" Ranma acknowledged. He quickly bowed to the man before him and asked whether something was on his mind. "Son, I was thinking about your skill and how you would truly be a worthy master of the Tendo School. However I was a bit shocked by your previous statement about the dowry, especially after I heard about your plan from Kasumi."

"She told you huh! I just realised that Natsume is simply trying to make sure she gets the dojo."

"Yes I know. It was a stupid idea to offer the dojo. You see, they were constantly fighting and it worried me when one day, Natsume came in with a broken arm. What was more frightening was that Akane broke it in anger.". Soun shuddered at the thought. Just then, Ranma grabbed his shoulder before replying "I think you should understand what Natsume feels. She knows about being adopted and is worried of losing her home. She has a goal of keeping the only place she has ever known as a home and is willing to do anything. I feel that with the dojo out, Akane and Natsume will quit though."

"What makes you so sure son? I think both Akane and Natsume will back off because of this since both want the dojo."

"Oh you don't need to worry about that Mr Tendo. Actually, I found out that Akane has a little crush on me so I am assuming that if she truly has feelings, she would be willing to give up on the dojo. Otherwise it would be a waste since she wouldn't be happy during the marriage and that would be injustice to her. I suggest you offer an alternative way for them to inherit the dojo."

"But how? I can't come up with anything."

"What is their skill level?". Soun simply thought back before replying "About the same without weapons. However Akane would have the definite advantage if she fully mastered the Tendo scrolls."

"Then the better challenge would be to make them both study under me as I learn the Tendo school and I will judge the best candidate."

"You will do that for me?". Ranma smirked at this comment. "Only if you spar with me.". At this, Soun just gulped but consented quickly.

The pair separated and went to their respective ends of the dojo. Once they were in position, Ranma entered his loose stance. _He looks like he uses no particular stance but I'm sure that he is simply trying to look cocky and intimidate me. That won't work though. _With that thought, Soun entered a stable horse stance. At first Ranma was about to dismiss it until he noticed something. _It is almost exactly like Akane's stance but there is something different. He clearly outstrips Akane. The difference is not obvious but there. _

Ranma looked at the stance using his Ki-sight before noticing the difference. _So he has infused Ki into his legs? I wonder what he uses it for._ Ranma nodded towards Soun. Soun returned and both shot forward. With a loud KIAI, both martial artists' fists collide in the centre of the dojo. _Ranma is just using the Saotome School. Is he testing our styles?_ Ranma was having different thoughts in his mind. _That was impressive. He is using his Ki to decrease the friction on the ground and to move further across per stride. Incredible! He could achieve the same kind of speed aerial stylists achieve on the ground. _Both fighters ended their contemplation and moved forward to exchange some quick punches.

Nabiki was walking across eating an ice pop. It was rather warm today and she was enjoying the cold treat. As she walked across the koi pond, she heard the familiar sound of kiai, she ran to the dojo and dropped her ice pop at the sight in front of her. Ranma and her father were sparring. _And daddy is holding his own!_ She watched as both combatants exchanged quick punches.

Ranma pulled back a punch to dodge the hammer fist coming towards his face before moving in to strike. _If he reduces his friction on the ground, he will be easy to sweep._ Ranma launched a punch and purposely overextended adding momentum to his body as he suddenly crouched and twisted his leg forward to knock down his opponent. Soun simply stood there smirking. _He has fallen for the greatest trap of the Tendo School's style. _

Ranma was clearly shocked as his sweep had no effect. Just then, a fist came toward his face. Using his superior body control, Ranma moved out of the way before dislocating a few joints to move into inhuman positions. When he was out of the way, he relocated his joints releasing a wet pop, which unknowingly caused Nabiki to twitch. Nabiki simply stood there recording the scene using her new video camera. She didn't notice her other sisters sneaking behind her only to stop still seeing the fight.

Soun was standing at his end, breathing quite heavily. He noticed that his movements were a bit rusty at first. _It was a good thing I started with some simple strikes. If I went into the more advanced forms in the beginning, I wouldn't have been able to hold on. It was surprising that Ranma held back though. _Just then, Soun mentally berated himself for thinking like that. _Ranma was trying to goad me into using the advanced forms. _"Had enough of a break Mr Tendo?"

"Just you wait son. I'll show you a thing or two.". Soun had to admit that in stamina, he was seriously lacking. Although he could still give Akane and Natsume a run for their money, he clearly lost some of his touch. _I can only hold on for another few minutes or so. I'll need to bring out the advanced forms if I want to have a chance of winning. _Soun immediately sprung back into a combat stance and spread his weight across his legs, drawing one fist back and thrusting his other palm forward. Taking a deep breath, he focused and condensed his Ki just outside his body making a shield just around his body.

_That must be an advanced form. _Ranma was barely sweating from the fight. He had to admit that Soun was better suited for an aerial style than Genma just like how his father was better suited for a ground style than an aerial. However he could see why they were trained in their respective styles. An aerial style gave tactics which were advantageous to Genma as they enabled him to dance around and deal extensive blows to ground stylists, whilst giving him the ability to anticipate aerial strikes. The same held for Soun but in the reverse order. _Damn their master must have been good. _mused Ranma.

Ranma was nearly knocked out by a punch coming his way. It was only thanks to years of martial arts training that he was able to dodge that. However using the momentum of the dodge, Ranma twirled gracefully into a powerful spinning back fist which actually dented the Ki armour near Soun's gut. Shocked at the force, Soun realised that his son-in-law was truly an immense martial artist but shook off the thought and went in for a roundhouse kick. Seeing the kick, Ranma spring boarded off the floor and launched a vicious axe kick which cleaved through the armour causing it to dissipate. At this, Soun merely put his hands up in surrender before Ranma started laughing. This led to Soun laughing.

The pair, having decided that the fight was a good bonding experience, walked towards the house with Soun patting Ranma's back quite hard. The girls all simply stared after the lights went out in the dojo before Nabiki snapped out of it and rushed upstairs to start editing the film. She intended to sell it to the various people around Nerima. Many fighters came to Nerima and in his glory days, Soun Tendo was considered invincible but this new challenger, who was a third of his age, matched him easily.

Natsume simply looked at the boy before turning back to go to her room before noticing hearts in Akane's eyes. _This might turn out well for me if Ranma and Akane marry. Then I can have the dojo. _Kasumi simply looked at the evil glint and cold smirk in Natsume's eyes before mentally thanking Ranma for pointing out the situation. _Now I can do something about it and make sure Akane is happy. _With that thought, she left a clearly stricken Akane. After snapping out of her reverie and realising she was alone, Akane hurried over to her room hoping that no one noticed. Unfortunately someone did. Suddenly a lilac blur shot away from the Tendo dojo.


	19. Nihao Airen!

Chapter 19: Nihao Airen!

Over the past few days, Ranma had settled into a comfortable routine at the Tendo's. His mornings would be spent training in the Tendo School's advanced technique scrolls since Soun was clearly not in any shape to teach yet. After a few hours, he would get ready for school; then walk with Akane, Natsume and Nabiki. Over the following few hours, he would help students with any queries until lunch; where he would spar a bit with Kuno. He would then continue helping teach till 2 o clock. The school was quite impressed with his martial arts abilities so gave him a free reign when it came to gym. As such, most of his gym class were spent training further in the Tendo School and to prepare for his classes with Akane and Natsume.

Said girls were steadily improving in the Tendo style; but it was clear that Akane had a big advantage compared to Natsume. Natsume was Akane's equal in the physical side of the Tendo School; but her inability to use Ki was detrimental since the Tendo School's advanced techniques were primarily Ki based. This didn't stop her as she put more effort into her physical training, hoping it could supplement her inability to use Ki. However; she did spend a lot of time begging Ranma to replace her fire Ki so she could do Ki attacks. Ranma was resistant though, explaining to no avail that the Tendo style was not designed for her type of Ki control and that if he did this, she would have to learn her father's style.

During his first week, he had agreed to help Kasumi with the chores as he continued to stay out of respect for the older girl's sacrifices for her family. Most of this was cooking since Kasumi was quite reluctant to let anyone else disturb the sanctity of her cleaning routine, which Ranma noticed was actually a cleverly disguised kata designed for improving balance. He noted this down for future reference deciding that he could use it as a warm down for students when he would open the school a week from now.

This left little time to try and come to a conclusion about his current predicament. Ranma was pretty sure that he didn't want to pick Kasumi and Natsume, however he still kept them in the running for the moment. This left only Akane and Nabiki. It was difficult to ignore the anxiety Nabiki was showing since he was quite clearly neglecting spending time with her; something he knew he had to correct if he wanted to be impartial in his decision. Coming up with a plan, he decided that today was a perfect day for an ice cream date.

"Nabiki?"

"Oh Ranma! H-H-How can I h-help y-y-y-you?" replied a flustered Nabiki who was clearly unused to someone being so close to her willingly. "I was wondering …". Ranma started to nervously rub the back of his head as he tried to figure out how to ask this, especially since most of the people were now crowding in to listen to their conversation. "Y-Yes?"

"Nabiki, I was wondering whether you would be free this afternoon to have some ice cream with me.". _There I said it. _He thought to himself with a smile. The stunned look on Nabiki's face immediately shifted to one of disbelief, then into one of joy as she started giggling. Ranma simply gave an easy and confident smile as he held out his hand to Nabiki. Nabiki shyly took it before being pulled into Ranma. Ranma jumped down from shocking most of the people in the room.

Ranma landed lightly, supporting Nabiki by the waist. Once they landed, Ranma picked her up bridal style and started roof hopping. Nabiki placed her head into the crook between Ranma's arm and chest, closing her eyes and feeling the warmth being radiated by a certain martial artist. Ranma moved gracefully and quickly towards a quaint ice cream shop towards the edge of Nerima.

Meanwhile in Furinkan,

"Akane! Akane! Where are you?"

"Sayuri? What's wrong?". Panting heavily, Sayuri quickly recounted the details of how Nerima's most eligible bachelor just asked the Ice Queen of Furinkan on a date. "OH HELL NO! I'm not gonna let her take my man. Come on Sayuri. Let's make sure nothing happens."

Akane quickly started running towards the stairs, hoping to head them off before they reached the ice cream shop. Sayuri was following as best as she could but soon fell behind. Akane didn't care as she moved as quickly as she could.

At the ice cream shop,

Nabiki was eating a spoon of her triple chocolate sundae with brownie fudge and chocolate chunks. Although she didn't admit it; she was a serious closet chocoholic, something she tried to hide as much as possible. Nabiki was still wondering how Ranma figured it out when he ordered her favourite sundae before paying for it and bringing it over. "How did you manage to get so much more?" Nabiki pouted. "I just flirted with the serving girl there. I think she goes to St Bacchus School for Girls.".

Nabiki started giggling at the thought of Ranma flirting. _He is more like me than I thought. However he uses charm instead of cold hard logic. I think I'm really falling for him. _Nabiki suddenly looked up as she noticed Ranma waving his hands in front of her. "What is it Ranma?"

"I was just asking you …"

BOOOOM. "NIHAO AIREN. Shampoo come to …". Ranma suddenly blurred forward and quickly struck a shiatsu point to silence the strange foreigner with lilac hair; before he went behind the girl and launched three more strikes at shiatsu points, causing the girl to fall unconscious. Suddenly he turned and grabbed Nabiki's hand before running with her, before carrying her bridal style and roof hopping away. Meanwhile, Akane finally arrived at the ice cream shop looking quite shocked at the situation. _WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED HERE? _was all that was going through her mind.

Once they were sufficiently far away from the shop, Ranma quickly let Nabiki down before turning into a slap. "What was that for?"

"That was for practically kidnapping me from a date. And this is for taking me to a nice private place.". Nabiki walked up and kissed Ranma on the lips trying to show all her feelings of passion and attraction to Ranma. Ranma tensed for a moment before relaxing and returning the kiss. _Oh my! Oh my! Oh my! This is so amazing. This is better than coffee. _After two minutes, they broke the kiss panting slightly. "Oh my!" Nabiki replied unintelligibly. Looking up at Ranma, she saw that she clearly had an effect on the man in front of her. His eyes were shifting quickly and could almost see his thoughts being processed as the Ranma operating system rebooted.

"So to whom do I owe the pleasure of you taking me here?" she questioned with a carefully schooled mask around her slightly pink features. "That was Shampoo."

"Hmph! Shampoo? What kind of name is that?". Suddenly Nabiki started giggling before her face turned sullen as she remembered the curvaceous and rather busty foreign girl. "She is a Chinese Amazon from this little village near Jusenkyo."

"So she is your past girlfriend?". At this thought, Nabiki felt like bursting into tears. _How will I compete with HER? She is curvier than me and so foreign. Compared to me, she must be a goddess. _Nabiki was forced out of her thoughts by a low growl. "Never even joke about that!". Nabiki was shocked at how low and cold his voice became, so much so that even she shivered involuntarily. "But she is gorgeous! How could you not want someone like …"

"I said never even joke like that. I don't love her. I don't like her. Heck I barely tolerate her let alone give a damn about how she looks. That crazy #!$%# needs to stop stalking me. Seriously I thought I got rid of her in China!" Ranma replied with a snarl. Nabiki was quite shocked at this statement before getting a little angry thinking of what she could have done to make Ranma so angry. "What did she do that you hate her so much?". Ranma sighed before taking a deep breath and replied. "It all started a few months ago ..."

#Flashback#

"POP! COME BACK! YOU DON'T WANT TO GO THAT WAY. IT'S TOO DANGEROUS. POP!"

Ranma was running at full pelt, following some large panda prints. Just behind him was a portly Chinese man, wearing an army uniform, and shouting warnings about Amazons in broken Japanese. "Honoured guests! Wait! Amazons no like outsider enter village. Especially man. Too-too dangerous."

#"Honoured guide?"# Ranma asked in fluent Mandarin. #"How far are we from the village? I am worried my father might have reached there already."#

#"The village is over that outcrop. I too am worried about this. The Amazons don't take kindly to outsiders trespassing on their land, especially males."#

#"I know of their matriarchal society. Hopefully my father can behave. Otherwise we may end up with a panda skin rug."#. Suddenly, Ranma and the guide burst out and almost crashed into an amazon patrol. At first, Ranma and the patrol simply looked at each other. After a few seconds, the shock died down and patrol aims their spears at Ranma's throat. Just then, a panda burst out of the foliage and attacked.

The first two girls, noticing the danger, launched themselves forward preparing to take down the panda with simultaneous strikes to the neck and stomach. However the panda seemed to expect this manoeuvre and moved into a scissor block, twisting the spears over each other thus tangling them. Both girls lost their balance and were each hit by a punch in the jaw, causing both girls to fly back several feet and crash into the ground. The third girl witnessing this immediately ran to call back for help as the remaining two slowly circled the panda with extreme caution.

The panda immediately launched forward preparing a powerful punch. Ranma took off realising he only had a few seconds to intercept; as he witnessed the intensity with which Genma was moving. _Is that fool trying to kill them? He must not know how much his mass changes during the transformation. _Ranma blurred forward activating his Iron Body with full strength. Suddenly both fists collided, releasing a huge shockwave which blasted Genma back through 5 trees and leaving a panda shaped indent in the sixth. Slowly, the blue glow surrounding Ranma started to fade. Seconds later; he was surrounded by 5 elderly women each carrying weapons and glowing with a powerful aura.


	20. We are the Joketsuzoku!

Chapter 20: We are the Joketsuzoku!

Ranma was surrounded. He knew that these women were exceptional from the aura they possessed. _One mistake and I'll die. _Deciding to play it safe and avoid any conflict, Ranma bowed before them and spoke with as much respect as possible. #"I apologise on behalf of my father. He has wronged you by trespassing on Amazon land and it is well within your rights to punish him. However; I beg of you not to do so."#

#"And why not male?"# asked one of the women. Ranma could tell from the aura she emitted that she was the most inexperienced of the group and so the least likely to listen to reason. Ranma was about to comment but was beaten to the chase by a diminutive woman with huge orbs for eyes. She possessed an ancient aura. _She must be at least 300 by the aura she displays. It's huge so she must be powerful. _The rather monkey like woman was perched atop a gnarled wooden staff and staring impassively. _She must have incredible balance to be able to do that at her age._ Ranma watched as the woman tried to talk sense to her junior. #"Bea De! Hold your tongue. This man is being respectful and I doubt that you would want to fight him."#

#"Khu Lon! He is just a male. Even if he is strong, we can take him. Why should we even bother tolerating him?"#. Hearing this, Ranma unconsciously started clenching and unclenching his fists; drawing his Ki into his body causing himself to glow a soft blue. Upon seeing this, the elders quickly started backing away to avoid any confrontation, all except for Bead. Completely oblivious to the danger; Bead continued her tirade before immediately being caught at the throat by a glowing, muscular arm.

Quite shocked at the ease displayed by the boy during his movement, and the speed in which he broke through her defences, Bead quieted down having just now realised the abilities of the young man holding her by her throat. _By the ancestors. His aura is almost as strong as my own at his age! Who the hell is this man?_ Seeing the woman in his hand suddenly turning purple from lack of oxygen, Ranma dropped the woman who landed on her hands and knees sputtering and coughing.

#"I hope this is a sufficient demonstration of my abilities."# Ranma stated; cracking his knuckles for emphasis. #"All I ask for is a chance to speak and come to a calm agreement. We need not use violence. I apologise for any damage that occurred to your warriors but it wasn't intentional. My father fell into a Jusenkyo spring and didn't handle it well. I hope we can put this beside us."#

#"I understand young man. I am Elder Khu Lon, matriarch of the Joketsuzoku and these are the other elders. I am impressed by your manners and your skills. As is the law of the Joketsuzoku, an outsider who can beat one of the elders in combat, earns passage for themselves and their entire party. Even though you beat our most junior elder, she is still an elder so we must grant you passage. This applies whilst you are within Amazon lands and will be revoked once you leave."#

#"I thank you Elder. Before we leave, would it be possible for us to restock? We have been travelling for days and could use some fresh water. I would take it from Jusenkyo but am reluctant since I do not know what effect it would have."#

#"GODS NO! Never drink water from Jusenkyo. It is the same as falling in the springs. You would have been cursed."#. Cologne was heaving in worry praying to the ancestors that the young man in front of her was not stupid enough to do something like that.

#"It was a good thing that I didn't then. Would it be possible for me to restock on supplies here? I understand if you are unwilling to give much to an outsider but all I ask is enough water to fill a few canteens."#. Cologne sighed in relief. _It seems that this man is quite something. It's too bad he didn't get challenged as he was here. He would have made an excellent husband. _She soon snapped out of her thoughts and replied.

#"We accept your request young man. You have bested us even though we attacked you. You were within your rights to deal a harsher punishment but you didn't. Not only that, but you saved some of our sisters. We would be honoured to help someone of your abilities."#

#"We are having a tournament today young man. We would be honoured if you could watch."# Ranma turned around to face another elder. Ranma evaluated the woman in front of him using his Ki-sight. This woman was possibly a few decades younger than Cologne but still quite powerful. It was obvious that she possessed greater Ki reserves than Ranma, especially considering the number of years she had to build them. The woman stood tall, almost a half head taller than Ranma with a gait befitting of a martial arts master. She was quite wrinkled and the smile she carried looked quite natural.

Deciding that he liked this woman, Ranma smiled before replying #"I am honoured to accept your invitation. My name is Ranma Saotome of the Saotome School of Anything Goes martial arts, and one of the 2 current wielders of the Iron Fist fighting style."#

#"Welcome Ranma Saotome. I am Lu Fa of the Joketsuzoku. If you follow us, you can join us at the Elder's table at the tournament. There you may eat and relax."#. Ranma smiled before hearing a rustling sound. Turning around, Ranma noticed Genma attempting to get up. Sighing, Ranma looked at the elders before saying #"Thank you elder. I will join you. However I would have to inform you that if I am to join you, someone will have to mind that idiot of a panda right there. Otherwise, I have a feeling I may have to return to Japan with a rug."#.

#"That can be arranged"#

A few hours later,

Ranma was sitting at the elder's table speaking with Loofah and Cologne about the tournament. #"I am a little disappointed about the quality of the warriors in this tournament. It seems almost as if they have no Ki training. The only one who appears even slightly Ki sensitive is that girl Xian Pu."#. The elders were quite shocked upon hearing Ranma's comments. Bead was quite offended and about to reply before Cologne spoke up. #"I have to admit that with your skills, especially at your age, your opinions are quite valid."#

#"Khu Lon!"#

#"Bea De! Ranma is right. None of the warriors participating today have any training in Ki abilities whereas he has been using them for the past 11 years. His opinion may be that of a prodigy but most warriors do exhibit Ki manipulation abilities at the age of 12. The fact that we haven't trained them then clearly demonstrates that their abilities are below par."#

#"Lu Fa?"#

#"AIYAH!"#

The elders and Ranma looked towards the table with the first place, to see an oversized panda eating the feast with gusto. Ranma quickly stood up and intervened. "Pop, are you mad? You just ate the first prize.". Genma simply raised a sign saying "Boy, they should have guarded it better. This is speed training.". Ranma simply looked stunned but recovered as Shampoo charged in an attempt to attack the panda. "Shampoo take panda pelt as first prize."

"Boy! Help your poor father." Genma flipped. Ranma sighed before looking straight at Shampoo and saying #"I do apologise but that panda is my father. He is affected by a rather appropriate Jusenkyo curse …"#. At this, most of the people started snickering. Ranma ignored them and continued #"… and I cannot let you pelt him no matter how much I would enjoy seeing you do it."#

#"I do not care. Either I get his pelt or you challenge me for the prize your father ate!"#. Shampoo was sure that the young man standing there wouldn't fight her having seen her victory. Ranma simply thought about it before asking #"Elder Khu Lon? If I were to take this challenge, will the kiss of marriage be invoked if I won?"#. Cologne was surprised at the fact that Ranma knew about this. _Damn! He knows about the kiss of marriage. This means that he will be able to check the terms. _#"No Ranma. It is not a challenge for marriage so if you should win, the kiss of marriage cannot be applied."#

#"Thank you elder. I accept your challenge."#. Shampoo was just shocked at the fact that this young outsider was accepting the challenge. However she believed that winning this would be easy and it would be nice to have a panda rug. At the thought of the rug, she jumped onto the log and motioned for Ranma to follow.

#"Are you both ready?"#

#"Yes great grandmother!"#

#"Yes Elder Khu Lon!"#

#"Begin!"#. Shampoo immediately moved forward with both her Chui raised above her head, ready to strike. She intended to end the fight in a single blow. Unfortunately for her, the same thought was passing through Ranma's head at the time and he blurred forward, jumping over the Chui and landing just behind Shampoo before launching 3 shiatsu strikes immediately paralyzing her and causing her to lose."#

#End Flashback#

Nabiki was stunned at the story Ranma just gave. "Wow! I can't believe they made rules like that. But I thought you said that since the challenge was made over the first prize, the kiss of marriage couldn't be given. Why is she chasing you?"

"Well the problem is that when I left; several Amazons intended to leave the village and fight me for the right to give the kiss of marriage. The problem is that according to Amazon law, it is punishable by death for an Amazon to steal another Amazon's husband. This led to several warriors fighting between themselves to try and ensure that they could give the kiss of marriage first. The elders were worried that so many warriors were getting hurt so they decided to give one year for the village champion to try and get me. If she failed, then another woman would be chosen to make the attempt until someone succeeds. Since then, Shampoo has been chasing me, trying to get into fights."

"But you just won. Surely she could give you the kiss now. We have to hide you. Don't worry, don't panic …". Ranma started laughing. "I think you need to calm down more than I do."

"HOW CAN YOU BE SO CALM RANMA!" Nabiki snapped. "Nabs; she didn't get a chance to voice her challenge. The rules are watertight. If she doesn't voice the challenge and I win, she can't actually make a claim."

"Are you sure?" Nabiki asked timidly. Ranma walked over and ruffled Nabiki's hair before smirking and saying "Yes Nabs. I'm sure."

"Ok Ranma."

Ranma looked around before realising that it was late, then picked up Nabiki bridal style before jumping in the air and roof hopping towards the dojo. In Ranma's arms, Nabiki couldn't help but feel safe and soon fell asleep. Ranma simply looked at her face and smiled before facing forward and bounding at top speed towards the Tendo dojo. _Maybe she might be the one. _


	21. Stalked!

Chapter 21: Stalked!

Nabiki woke up quite suddenly to the feeling of damp sheets. _Not again. How does this always happen every time I think of Ranma? That was a nice dream though! _Nabiki recounted her dream where she and Ranma were flying over Nerima; Ranma carrying her body, stroking her hair lovingly. Suddenly her eyes narrowed as she noticed her surroundings. _I'm in my room? How? I don't remember going up here last night. _Disoriented, she lifted her sheets and lookeddown at her body. _How did I get dressed in pyjamas? I haven't worn them for years. _

As these thoughts flowed through her mind, she noticed another couple of discrepancies to her normal routine, one of which was the fact that the clock read 4 in the morning. _I haven't woken up early since mom died. What happened last night? _Worried even further, she tried to remember the events of last night. _I was at school when Ranma asked me out for ice cream. I agreed and he bought me a sundae. Then we got attacked by that Chinese hussy; he won and carried me over to the bridge over the canal. We sat down and he told me about how she was chasing him all over China and now Japan. _

Suddenly, Nabiki remembered the sheets. She quickly grabbed the sheets thus exposing a sleeping Ranma, trapped between the wall and her body on the edge of the bed. "Eep!". Nabiki quickly got off the bed staring at the almost sculpted body sleeping in her bed with the clothes she remembered him wearing in her dream. _Oh my! _Nabiki's thoughts channelled Kasumi whilst she regained her bearings about last night's events. _I fell asleep in his arms? Oh my! Oh my! How could I embarrass myself so much? What else? Please tell me I didn't embarrass myself beyond belief. _Just then, the memory of their kiss filtered through her mind. "We kissed?" she whispered as she touched her lips, _the lips that touched Ranma's. _

Heart racing, she was oblivious to the sounds of a wakening Ranma. A quick glance at the window and the furniture in the room told Ranma that he was in Nabiki's room, and in her bed no less. "Oh Kami! Please let her be asleep. She'll kill me for sleeping with her last night." He whispered. He blushed at the thoughts of him sleeping with her before panicking once he realised he was alone on the bed. Turning around, he immediately saw Nabiki staring at him wearing an equally deep blush. He quickly jumped out of the bed in fear, landing on his knees before frantically bowing whilst whispering a phrase which suspiciously sounded like "I'mSorryI'mSorryI'mSorryI'mSorry …".

Ranma continued his constant string of apologies until the sound of giggling aroused his curiosity. "Wha!" he replied unintelligibly, raising his head to see himself with Nabiki, who was trying desperately not to laugh. _Damn she's cute when she smiles. Really, she might be the one. _Ranma took a deep breath steadying himself for the damage control he needed to do. "Nabs?". Nabiki blushed on hearing Ranma's nickname for her; turning her head away to hide her face from him, before replying with a meek "Yes?".

Ranma sighed in relief having sensed no malice in the voice. He stood up and walking towards her. Once he reached, he placed both outstretched hands on her shoulders before looking into her eyes, brown meeting blue as they searched each other's eyes for some indication of where the conversation would go. "Nabs?"

"Ranma?"

"Do you remember what happened last night?". _Oh my! Oh my! Something happened?_ Carefully slipping into her ice queen mask, Nabiki looked at Ranma before replying with a firm "No! What happened?". Ranma winced at the ice in her tone before realising that any self-respecting girl would question him like that if they found themselves in such a compromising situation. Ranma took another steadying breath before replying "You fell asleep during our date. I carried you back and put you to bed."

"Oh! Ok! But why were you there with me?" _Not that I minded. If that is how I would be woken up every day, I wouldn't care. _She was snapped out of her thoughts as Ranma replied. "You were having nightmares. You calmed down whilst I was holding your hand; so I stayed with you trying to comfort you. Every time I tried to leave, you started whimpering and the last time I tried; you ended up twisting and pulling me onto the bed and suddenly calmed down." Ranma stopped and started scratching the back of his head nervously before finishing. "I guess I fell asleep waiting for you to feel better.".

Ranma tensed himself for the explosion of anger he expected from the girl in front of him, only to be completely floored by said girl jumping into his arms and landing a searing kiss. After what seemed like an eternity, Nabiki broke the kiss before smirking coyly and teasing "I forgive you Ranma. Though next time you want to see me, just ask and I'll show you; if you are good that is!". With this, Nabiki walked out of the room sashaying her hips as she walked towards the door. At the door, she turned around looking at a confused Ranma. "Thank you for a great date.". With this, she turned around and giggled the rest of the way towards the furoba.

At lunch

Nabiki was quite pleased with her takings. It seemed that the betting pool she set up at the start of the year had borne fruit. _After all, _she thought bitterly, _who would have thought that the ice queen would have been asked out at all, let alone by the boy every girl was crushing on. _She looked at her ledger book as she realised that the pool had gotten her over 300,000 yen. "I'll take my cut from that now."

Nabiki jumped as she noticed Ranma hanging upside down on the other side of the window. Every girl in the class was squealing at the unintentional peep show they got of the young martial artist's toned chest, as he hung from the window. Ranma was oblivious to this as he jumped into the class room and walked towards Nabiki with slow, deliberate, powerful strokes that made all the girls' knees turn to jelly until his lips were just beside Nabiki's ears. "I think you're in danger! I need to speak to you as soon as possible.". The girls couldn't hear the words aimed at Nabiki Tendo and so most swooned at the supposed romantic gesture, others glowing with jealousy over their proximity, some wishing they could be on the receiving end of such a gesture. One Akane Tendo was fuming at the thought of her sister being so close to Ranma.

_I will take that #£$!# down. Ranma is mine. _She almost growled but the people in front of her were oblivious as Ranma walked the slightly older girl towards the door, intending to take her out to the roof. As they reached the door, Ranma looked around to see Natsume and a rather angry Akane standing in front of him. Ranma twisted his fingers slightly in a follow sign, a gesture so subtle that no ordinary person could notice it; but Natsume did. As soon as they walked out of sight, Natsume nudged Akane hard before whispering "Follow me!".

In a few short minutes, 3 of Nerima's premier martial artists and one Nabiki Tendo were standing on the roof of Furinkan High. Ranma was quite serious and sombre, a far cry from the seductive yet happy go lucky martial artist the Tendo's had gotten used to. Ranma looked in front of him. Sitting there were a rather indifferent Natsume, an angry yet shy Akane and a very worried Nabiki. Ranma waited until everyone was looking at him before taking a deep breath. "I'm afraid all of you may be in danger."

Everyone stopped. "Danger? What kind of danger could it be that you're worried Ranma?"Akane askedvoicing the thought going through the minds of all three girls. Ranma proceeded to explain about Shampoo and the Joketsuzoku for the next 10 minutes. Once he finished, he was met with all 3 girls having very different thoughts. Akane's mind immediately came to the worst possible conclusion about what would happen. _Another hussy trying to get my Ranma? She's probably gonna drug him and have her way with him or something like that. I won't let her! I'll kill her before I let her take Ranma! Ranma is MINE! _

Nabiki was more worried about the implications of what Ranma was saying. _If he is telling all of this to us, he must trust us all a lot. Either that or there is a situation regarding Shampoo that he needs to warn us about. God I hope it's the former. Why else would he explain the full situation? _Meanwhile, Natsume was having entirely different thoughts about the Joketsuzoku. What _if I help them get Ranma? Maybe they could get rid of Akane and leave me as the only heir to the dojo. Maybe they could also fix my Ki for me! Then no one could take the dojo from me. _

Ranma frowned as he saw emotions of jealousy, anger, cunning and desire burning through Natsume's aura. This frown deepened as he saw the evil smirk passing along her face. Natsume quickly hid the smirk under her mask of indifference but not quickly enough. _She can't be thinking of doing something with them. Even if she helped them, Natsume would be considered an outsider and obstacle so they would kill her as soon as they get what they want._

Akane was just about to storm off but stopped on hearing Nabiki's next words. "There's more isn't there!". _Always the observant one. _Ranma mused. "Yes! There's more.". Ranma sighed before continuing. "I noticed that Shampoo has been stalking you three.". He then turned towards Nabiki. "Since our date, she has focused specifically on you. However I suspect she has been targeting the two of you as well. I n …"

"SO NOT ONLY IS SHE A FIANCÉ STEALING HUSSY BUT SHE IS ALSO A PERVERT?". Turning around, Akane noticed that the entire school was now looking at the roof and craning their necks to better hear the conversation. "Eep!". Akane sat down quickly, blushing to the roots as she looked at Ranma wondering what impression he got from her little outburst. What shocked the trio was the booming laughter erupting from said martial artist. "Ha-ha-ha! Oh Kami!" he wheezed. "That was hilarious. Highly accurate though-ha-ha!"

"Y-You mean she really is a pervert and a fiancé stealer?"

"Well yes. She is definitely trying to steal me from my potential fiancée and is probably the most perverted girl ever. Her idea of getting a guy to fall in love with her is to seduce them by rubbing her body over them.". At this, Natsume and Nabiki joined Ranma in his laughter. "So Akane of all people managed to hit the head on the nail!" they asked incredulously. "Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha!". Akane bristled at this but soon gave up trying to suppress her snickers. The next few minutes were spent with sounds of laughter filling the air.

The group started wheezing for a few minutes before Ranma decided he needed to finish explaining the problem. Taking deep breaths to settle down, Ranma continued. "Shampoo's village has a rule, 'obstacles are for killing'. How anyone can follow it, only Kami knows but I am worried that she is attempting to take the three of you out from the scene since you three are my friends and potential lovers.". At this, all three girls blushed. At this moment, Akane finally picked up her courage and asked the question troubling her ever since she found out about Ranma. "What about Kasumi?"

Ranma sighed. He was worried about this ever since he saw the fights. _I swear the boys in this school are idiots. Didn't they realise how much they hurt her self-esteem? _Ranma realised his next comment had to be very carefully worded or he could really hurt Akane. "Akane, Kasumi really isn't my type. She is also in love with someone else so I couldn't do anything about it if I wanted to. Honestly if you wanted the current rankings, you and Nabs are at the top of the pick with Kasumi last and Natsume only being barely considered."

"Hey!". Ranma turned to face Natsume before shaking his head. "Have you ever really expressed any interest in this engagement? If so then I haven't noticed anything on your part. If **you **don't want this, then why should I consider this engagement?". Realising that Ranma had caught her, she quickly turned away before muttering quietly. Ranma ignored this and faced the remaining girls. "Her skills are the real deal. She may not be as good as me but she easily surpasses all three of you.".

This shocked the two martial artists in front of him. They had gotten used to the fact that Ranma was better than them but it still hadn't sunk in that there were other martial artists their age that had better skills. "How much?" came a weak voice from Natsume. Ranma turned to face her. "Physically, she could run rings around all three of you simultaneously. However she doesn't have much Ki experience unlike Akane. If she could fully control her Ki, she would be the only person out of you three who could match Shampoo. Of course I will need to train her further so she can fully master her Ki …". His words were immediately interrupted by Akane jumping forward and giving Ranma a rib cracking hug. "Thank you Ranma! Thank You!"


	22. Ki training for Dummies!

Chapter 22: Ki training for Dummies!

"Thank you Ranma! Thank You!"

"Aka-ne … can't … breathe.". Akane suddenly let go of a rather blue Ranma before turning away to hide her blush. "Sorry about that."

"It's ok … We can begin … your training when … we get back home. Ok?"

"Fine!". Akane turned away and started to walk towards her class. However, before she could leave, she stopped and turned to face him. "Ranma?"

"Yes Akane?"

"Thanks for treating me like a real martial artist. Y-You don't know how much it means to me.". Akane tried to stifle a sob but Ranma could see she was very emotional and needed someone to comfort her. He slowly walked up to her, using his left hand to lift her chin before wrapping his arms around her. Akane's head fell onto his shoulder as she just cried out in both joy and sorrow. Ranma just held her, one hand in her hair and another rubbing her back in soothing circles. After what seemed like an eternity, Ranma and Akane separated both supporting equally crimson blushes. They quickly let each other go before walking off towards their classes, avoiding mentioning what happened.

A few hours later,

Ranma was sitting in a half lotus position, breathing deeply. He had been waiting for a few minutes for Akane to get ready but got bored so decided to meditate until she arrived. He was already reaching the next level of meditation before Akane bounded in wearing her yellow gi and red belt. "So sensei, are you ready?". Ranma grunted at his concentration being broken but quickly hid his annoyance. "Sure Akane!" he replied in a honeyed voice. Akane quivered at hearing the sickly sweet tone.

Ranma spring boarded himself off the floor and entered his loose stance. He then turned and invited Akane to do the same. Akane complied entering a loose stance. Suddenly, Ranma was behind her and struck 3 shiatsu points. The shock of the event caused the scream to die in her throat. _He was just like the others. Please Kami no. Not like this. _Akane had nearly resigned herself until she felt fingers flying across her stomach and waist. "Ha-ha-ha oh Kami stop Ranma. Ha-ha-ha! So-so-sorry R-Ranma. Ple-please st-st-stop!"

"Do you promise never to do it again?" Ranma asked again using that same honeyed voice he used earlier. "Y-Yes!". On hearing this, Ranma stopped immediately before undoing the shiatsu points, wearing a grin like the cat that caught the canary. Akane turned around, indignant at the event but on seeing Ranma's face, she couldn't help but break out into a smile. "Oh! You're quite sneaky Ranma. Almost like Nabiki! Though at least you don't charge and for that, my purse thanks you."

"Thank you, thank you!" Ranma replied, bowing with each thanks. "You know Ranma that I'll get you back for this."

"Well I would looove to see you try but the last I remember, we need to train you in Ki.". Akane looked a little sheepish at having forgotten the purpose of their meeting. She sat down on the floor preparing mimicking the half lotus position as best as she could but she just couldn't make it look as natural as Ranma could. Ranma chuckled as he noticed the rather obvious problem developing. "Uhm, Akane?"

"Yes Ranma?"

"Well you are sitting in a puddle of water.". On hearing this, she immediately noticed an overturned glass she hadn't seen when she came in, a few inches away surrounded by a disk of water which was slowly expanding towards her. Jumping quickly, Akane tried to cover the very wet gi bottom she was wearing to no avail. Ranma simply walked over and released his aura. The warmth unleashed instantly caused the water to evaporate, drying the floor and her gi.

As suddenly as he released his aura, he pulled it back leaving a sort of cold void, leaving Akane unconsciously moving her hand forward trying to grab the warmth; a motion that went unnoticed by the martial artist. "Alright. Now get back in the half lotus position and lets begin.". Ranma watched as Akane sat down in her half lotus before walking over to straighten her back and tilt her head so that she was still. "Relax your shoulders and maintain this position for as long as you can, whenever you can. This posture can be maintained on seats as well as when you are sitting in seiza."

Ranma walked around Akane in circles, as he spoke in a voice Akane and Natsume had come to dub as 'sensei mode'. "This is a chi building stance. As long as you stay in this posture, your chi will naturally start to build. It doesn't matter what you are doing or thinking so long as you maintain this posture.". Ranma stopped in front of her and then dropped in a half lotus as well. "Ki training is notoriously difficult to maintain so during our lessons; I will teach you shortcuts. The classes will have both theoretical and practical parts in them. During your theory lessons, I expect you to sit in the half lotus position so that your Ki can build up. I will explain the intricacies of Ki techniques to you and you will learn them. Any questions so far?"

"When do we start the practical lessons?". Ranma smiled at this. He had expected for Akane to ask this question and was quite pleased that his opinions on her love of the Art were well founded. "We will start depending on how soon you master the theory I intend for you to learn today.". At this, Akane squealed, thoughts of being able to make flames like Ranma and possibly do so many other things crossing her mind. As if seeing these thoughts, Ranma rapped her on the head lightly before saying "Hold your horses' girl. You won't be learning the Iron Zodiac techniques. All I'll teach you are the Tendo School techniques.". On hearing this, Akane became visibly disheartened. However the thoughts of finally becoming a full master of the Tendo School made her forlorn face brighten considerably. "So begin the lesson sensei!" Akane teased.

Ranma chuckled at this before repositioning himself to begin the lesson. "The first thing I need to teach you is about the nature of Ki itself. Ki is life energy. It resides in every living thing in the world. However there is also Ki in many inanimate objects and things that cannot be considered living. A prime example is fire which, as you know, a skilled Ki adept can control."

"Like your 'Majestic Destroyer'!"

"Precisely.". Ranma was quite happy. His new student appeared to be attentive and quite enthusiastic about learning. _Maybe I should consider training her in one of the Iron Zodiac forms. _Ranma decided to dwell on this later and went back into his 'sensei mode'. "The 'Majestic Destroyer' is a plume of highly concentrated fire Ki projected through a very small area, causing it to expand explosively at the point where the adept ends his control. I warn you now that you are nowhere near ready to even attempt to concentrate Ki to those levels and I will be forced to quit your instruction if you attempt something as stupid as that. Are we clear?".

Ranma looked at Akane quite sternly as he noticed her trying to contemplate how to use the technique. His comment had shocked her by its intensity. Staring at him like a deer caught in the headlights, she opened her mouth to reply but found out that she couldn't reply. Instead she just nodded her ascent. Ranma satisfied by this went back to his instruction. "Continuing from where I was before being rudely interrupted;". At this, Ranma looked at Akane with a cocky smirk letting her know that he was teasing. "Ki is divided into two categories, emotional Ki and elemental Ki. Emotional Ki is Ki found in all living creatures and is the easiest form of Ki to control. It is created by drawing power from an emotion you are feeling. However it is also the type of Ki with the most drawbacks."

"Drawbacks?" Akane questioned. She knew from Ranma's instruction that she used emotional Ki and was able to control it to some degree. She always assumed that Ranma was showing off by using elemental Ki rather than emotional Ki. This however was quite unexpected. "What drawbacks does emotional Ki have?". Ranma looked at his student appraisingly. _So she noticed?_

"Well you can only use emotions you are feeling or have felt a lot of. Otherwise the Ki techniques fail. That is a minor inconvenience however compared to the main problems. Emotional Ki tends to only affect people who frequently experience the opposite emotion to the one you use. For example, depression is overcome by confidence; lust overcome by love; anger by joy and so on."

To say this shocked Akane would have been like saying a bomb makes a sound. She was full blown speechless. She was quite proud of being the only heir of the Tendo School able to learn the full School. However hearing this pointed out to her the incredible gap in her defences. As she wrapped her mind over this, she realised that Ranma stated problems. "Ranma? You said problems. What other drawbacks are there to using emotional Ki?". Ranma took a deep breath before replying. He knew that Akane wouldn't take this well especially since she knew the emotion that powered her Ki.

"Emotional Ki use causes the user to experience more of the emotion that they used in the attack." This shocked Akane. She always knew she had a temper but what Ranma was telling her was that unless she fully mastered Ki control, she could become a berserker. _I can't let that happen. Ranma won't let that happen. Why else would he train me? _Ranma quickly looked at her and decided to assuage her worries. "My intention is to get you to master using elemental Ki so you can be able to gain total control over yourself.". Hearing this caused Akane to start tearing up. However, recognising the importance of the situation, she steeled herself for the training to come. "How do I learn to use elemental Ki?"

"You're in luck. Emotional Ki is actually a mix of various amounts of elemental Ki. In order to master elemental Ki, you simply need to learn to separate the elemental Ki from the emotional Ki.". On hearing this, Akane started bouncing in joy thinking of how she could master the abilities if what Ranma said was true. Deciding that she had to do this, Akane faces Ranma displaying her new found resolve clearly.

Meanwhile

Outside of Nerima, two girls were standing facing each other preparing to talk. "Why you call Shampoo here obstacle?". The other girl simply looked at Shampoo carefully before replying in a calm voice "I have something you want and you can give me something I want. Help me and Ranma is yours.". The mention of Ranma made Shampoo a little giddy but remembering her situation, she decided to listen to the girl in front of her. _However if her deal isn't worth it, I will take her out now. _


	23. Xi Fa Xiang Gao!

Chapter 23: Xi Fa Xiang Gao!

Akane was exhausted. _I swear Ranma and Hitler could be brothers. They're both sadistic as hell. Oh my aching muscles. _As if on cue, Ranma's hands started applying pressure on her sore shoulders. This was too much for Akane's already weak knees, causing her to collapse in a boneless heap. Ranma, using reflexes and speed borne from the several years of training he endured, caught her mere inches from the floor.

Chuckling slightly; he lifted her in a bridal carry, walked up the stairs with Akane in tow, until he reached her bedroom door. Using his superior body control, he lifted his left foot and brought it down slowly, applying just enough pressure to twist the handle. Once inside, he walked up to her bed before unceremoniously dropping her on her bed. He then walked out of the room leaving Akane confused.

Akane was curious. She wanted to know what was going to happen but her body refused to listen. Every time she attempted to move, her aching muscles protested. _Sadistic is right. He probably lives to see his students in pain. _Just when she was about to resign herself to her fate; Ranma walked into the room carrying a few bottles, a towel and what looked to be one of her swimsuits. _What is he going to do to me? Please Kami don't tell me he's a pervert after all. _Ranma simply threw over the towel and swimsuit, which she recognised as her tanning swimsuit before walking out of the room. "Put it on and lie down on your stomach."

"What?". But before Akane could ask Ranma what was going on, he was already out of the door. _What is he planning to do? Why do I have to wear this? Wh … _Akane's thoughts were broken by a sharp knocking on the door. "Akane, I need to do a practise paper you know. Could you please finish changing so I can start your massage?". _Massage! He is going to give me a massage? _Thoughts of Ranma massaging her started flowing through her mind before she slapped her face muttering "Bad Akane, bad!"

She slowly shucked off her gi before changing into her tanning bikini. As she changed, thoughts of how she looked and what Ranma would think flooded her mind. _What will he think? Does he think I'm sexy? Please tell me he likes the way I look. Kami! He is going to be touching me all over! _Ranma deciding he had waited enough knocked once again on the door. The sound caused Akane to jump violently. She ran to her bed and threw the towel around her body before calling out a weak "Come in!", hiding her blushing face.

Ranma was ignorant of this as he walked into the room. He set the bottles on the table before grabbing a bottle of some sweet smelling lotion. Squeezing the lotion on his hands; he began to rub them together. He put his hands on her back before moving along her body in smooth, powerful strokes. Akane let out an involuntary moan as he rubbed a particularly tense spot. Ranma attempted to ignore this as he grabbed a different bottle containing scented massage oil; which he rubbed over her body again using the same powerful strokes.

Once satisfied that he had loosened her muscles sufficiently, he grabbed a few stones which he subsequently began filling with Ki. Every few seconds, he would put one of these stones on a part of her body causing all her aches and pains to melt away. _Oh my! He's so good. It feels amazing! Oh! Uhmmm! Please don't let it end Kami. _As she continued moaning; Ranma was blushing furiously, each subsequent moan making him turn a shade redder. Realising that the stones had cooled, Ranma picked them up before putting them away and began launching a few light jabs into her back and shoulders. This caused Akane to let loose another round of moaning. "M-More R-R-Ranma-a-a-a-a! Aah! Keep go-o-o-o-oing. It f-feels s-s-so go-o-od!". On hearing this; Ranma obliged, delivering several more light jabs, before taking his hands and lightly bringing his hands down in chopping motions. "Akane, only Kami knows how many knots you have. You really need to relax."

"Y-Y-You could mas-s-sage me inste-a-ad."

"RANMA, AKANE COME QUICK!"

"That was Kasumi. Come on!". On this, Ranma yanked Akane off the bed before running down the stairs taking 6 at a time, each time jumping off to the next step before Akane could even touch the floor. Ranma ran into the hallway to see a bruised Natsume. Now Ranma was quite used to seeing bruises and to him the bruises weren't very serious. "Natsume, what's wrong?"

"MY BRAIN FEELS LIKE ITS MELTING!". This shocked Ranma into action and made him quickly look at her head, before worry set into him upon realising that her hair was covered by some sort of weird shampoo. "Damn it! Kasumi, I'm taking Natsume to Tofu's clinic.". With this, Ranma grabbed Natsume before bounding off in the direction of the clinic. After running for a few seconds, he immediately jumped to the first rooftop before quickly roof hopping the rest of the way to the clinic.

"WAIT FOR ME RANMA! I'M COMING."

"Uhm Akane? I know that it's quite warm outside but are you sure you want to go out like that?", replied a worried Kasumi. Realising her state of dress, Akane 'eeped' before running up the stairs to change.

Meanwhile at the Ono clinic

'BOOM-BOOM-BOOM'

"Wha!"

'BOOM-BOOM-BOOM'

"What the?". Dr Tofu wasn't a particularly heavy sleeper but this particular day had been quite tiring. Yoshi was out with Akio all day so the clinic was swamped, Tofu having to spend several hours trying to sort out both the office work and taking care of patients. It also didn't help that a recent bout of flu had broken out in Nerima. _Honestly, the way they were over exaggerating in the news. Its small wonder that so many parents came over trying to get a vaccination shot. _

'BOOM-BOOM-BOOM'

"Coming, coming". Tofu grabbed a pair of fluffy slippers from his bedside rack before walking down the stairs leading to the clinic below his apartment. Tofu opened the door and was about to complain about it being perfectly acceptable for the flu shot to wait. That was of course until he caught sight of a dishevelled Ranma, breathing very heavily, and carrying a barely conscious Natsume. "Ranma, what happened?"

"Tofu-san, I have no clue. She came home today and when I looked at her, I realised something was seriously wrong. She was complaining that her head was paining badly. I think it has something to do with the shampoo on her hair. You have to help."

"Shampoo you say?". Tofu listened raptly to the explanation before looking down at the young girl. He carefully took a small amount of the shampoo between his fingers before lifting it up to his nose. "Ranma! Bring her with you before we're too late. We need to do this quick."

"What's wrong doc?" Ranma asked as he followed Tofu into what looked like a study. In one corner of the study was a door leading into a small washroom. Ranma turned to see Tofu running into the study quickly pulling off book after book to find the one he was looking for. "Ranma, seat her in the washroom next to the sink and quickly come here. We don't have a lot of time.". At this, Ranma started to get really worried. From what he had seen of the doctor, Tofu was incredibly calm and mild mannered. _This has to be serious if the doc is this agitated. _

Ranma quickly dropped Natsume into the seat before rushing over to Tofu. Lying on the table in front of Tofu was a book turned to a page. Ranma was about to complain about the language until he realised he was looking at Chinese. "Xi Fa Xiang Gao? What is that doc?"

"Just as I expected." Tofu muttered to himself. "Ranma, follow me.". Ranma followed Tofu towards Natsume. Once he reached, he drew his Ki forward creating a few sparks and brought his fingers so that they touched ten shiatsu points on her head. "I need you to maintain this. I suspect we only have a half hour or so before she loses all her memory!"

"WHAT! How is this possible doc? What is the Xi Fa Xiang Gao?". Tofu quickly walked over to the book he left at the table, causing Ranma to jump behind Natsume, channelling his Ki and placing his sparking hands on her head. Suddenly, Ranma felt a sudden surge as he felt visions flow through his mind, visions in which he saw a life _Natsume's life _through her eyes. Ranma struggled as he forced the visions out of his head, before turning towards Tofu. "Doc, what's wrong with her? Please tell me!"

"The Xi Fa Xiang Gao. A memory wiping technique used in helping trauma, but deadly if used incorrectly. The user uses a hallucinogenic shampoo to force the user to relive their memories. The chemicals in the shampoo also act as a conductor of electrical current allowing the user to actually see these memories by reading the impulses. The user can then select and delete appropriate memories according to their wishes. But the question is who would apply it on her?"

"Shampoo!" Ranma growled. "I bet that crazy amazon had something to do with this.". Tofu looked at Ranma with a shocked expression. "You mean that you know who used this? But why use it and why not finish it?"

"What do you mean doc?". Tofu turned to another page in the book before looking at Ranma. "According to the book, the technique needs a certain amount of cooperation on the part of the person the technique is used on. I don't know why she wanted it applied on her but I can't imagine why Natsume would fight if she wanted this technique applied …"

"DOC, the technique was forcefully applied on her. Shampoo is this crazy amazon, chasing me to try and marry me. She probably found out that Natsume is a potential fiancée so tried to get rid of her by making her forget me. Natsume probably fought back whilst the technique was being applied so the technique failed."

"I see." Tofu replied whilst quickly poring through the book in front of him. "Ranma, I'm afraid that this makes it a bit complicated. If the technique was completed, it would be easier to undo it and help her since the method is reversible. However I don't know how much of the technique was completed. I need you to keep her synapses firing so she retains her memories. The technique works by the user forcefully shutting off synapses recording certain memories. So long as they keep firing, she should retain her memories. I'll try as hard as possible to find a solution quickly."

"Ok doc. Be quick though. I don't think I could do this for very long without her brain taking some serious damage."

"Yes Ranma. I'll move as quickly as possible."


	24. Natsume's Anguish!

Chapter 24: Natsume's Anguish!

"Yes Ranma. I'll move as quickly as possible."

It had been 5 minutes since these words and already Ranma was feeling the strain of this enormous undertaking. _Regulating Ki is difficult on its own, but to control elemental Ki whilst constantly being mentally buffeted by Natsume's memories? Kami I hope Tofu-san knows what he's doing. _His thoughts were abruptly halted by an image briefly shooting through his mind and suddenly; everything went black.

…

…

…

_Where am I? _Ranma was surrounded by an all-consuming darkness. The silence that surrounded him was deafening. "Waah!". Out of nowhere, a light tore through the darkness enveloping Ranma, almost blinding him by its intensity. Suddenly, he got up before shaking his head in a desperate attempt to clear the pounding headache he seemed to have, only to realise that he was in a clearing he had never seen before. Judging by the stars in the sky, he was up North, possibly near Iga. He attempted to expand his Ki senses but noticed that he couldn't access his Ki. _'Uhm! What was that?_'. _Hello? _Ranma called out mentally. Getting worried, Ranma frantically tried to recover his bearings, but noticed that his body wouldn't respond to his thoughts. _What's going on? I was in the clinic with Natsume wasn't I? Where am I know and where's Natsume?_

Ranma was startled out of his thoughts by the sound of faint crying. As soon as he heard this, his head immediately turned to the source to see a young girl of maybe three years old. Ranma was hesitant to approach this girl. She seemed familiar yet he couldn't place where he had seen this girl before. _Where did this girl come from? What is she doing out here, all alone? 'Is that Kurumi? Why is she crying? Where are Mommy and Daddy?' _On hearing this, Ranma slowly came to a startling realisation. _Kami, I'm seeing Natsume's memories. _His body started moving, against his wishes, in an attempt to approach the girl. He was about to curse furiously at the thought of being a puppet in his own body, but when he opened his mouth, the voice that came out shocked him to the core. "There, there Kurumi. Hush!". As Ranma started struggling to get out of her memories, he was treated to another bout of darkness.

…

…

…

The first thing Ranma saw in this memory was a slightly older Kurumi walking beside him. It was clear, by the look of things, that some months had passed since the previous memory. Ranma could feel a weight on his/her shoulders, which he recognised to be from a large camping backpack. "So why are you training sis?". Ranma/Natsume looked at Kurumi's face before he/she replied "Mommy and Daddy were martial artists like me. All martial artists train so we can protect the weak from others."

"Like superheroes?". Kurumi's excited squeal elicited a giggle from Ranma/Natsume's. "Yes like superheroes. However we need to train so that we can be helpful when people need us.". Kurumi brought a finger to her lips before tapping them, reminding Ranma of anime characters in thought. Ranma mentally laughed when he saw but quickly stopped as he strained to see more of the memory. "Sis, could I train too?"

"Of course Kurumi! I could help you if you like."

"Really?"

"Sure.". Hearing this; it was difficult not to smile as Ranma/Natsume watched Kurumi jumping up and down in excitement, like a rabbit on a sugar rush. Once again, Ranma felt the familiar yet unwanted blackness claim him as he was whisked away to another memory.

…

…

…

_Not again! _Ranma was brought to yet another memory, this time of Kurumi crying. It was obvious that another few months had passed since the previous memory. Ranma took note of the dreary scene in front of him. They were in yet another clearing but it was small, surrounded on all sides by trees. The sky was grey and dismal, making it look as if it was about to rain. It was clear that the young girl in front of him/her was quite afraid of something. Just then, a loud BOOM sounded off in the distance, almost like cannon fire. Immediately, Ranma felt a warm bundle crash into him. He brought his/her face around to look into the eyes of a terrified Kurumi. "Sis? I want mommy and daddy back. I'm scared."

"I know baby, I know!" Ranma/Natsume replied as she hugged the terrified girl. For a few minutes, everything was quiet as Kurumi calmed down. Ranma/Natsume simply held the young girl in his/her arms as the rain started to fall. 'PLOP'. Ranma/Natsume turned his/her head towards the grey tarp; their only protection from the elements, only to sigh as water started to leak. "Great. We need to stop by the next town and buy a new tarp." He/she muttered as the water continued dripping on the pair. "Sis? Why aren't Mommy and Daddy here?". Ranma/Natsume looked shocked at hearing this statement.

'_I can't tell her. She is too young. Think girl think!'. _It seemed as though Natsume was trying to come up with a way to console her sister. _'I need to make sure she doesn't grow up feeling unwanted. I have to protect her. She's all I have.' _Suddenly he/she snapped his/her fingers before turning to face Kurumi. "This is a test Kurumi?"

"Huh?" came a confused reply from Kurumi as she tried to make sense of what her sister said. Ranma/Natsume carefully controlled herself as she eased into her lie. "Mommy and Daddy always gave me challenges when they used to train me in the Art. They wanted me to become better. This is one of them.". _I can feel her heart rate and the sweat building on her forehead. I hope that Kurumi doesn't realise it. _It was easy to see that this statement confused Kurumi more than help her. "What do you mean test?"

"It's like a game." she replied as nonchalantly as she could. "They want me to train extra hard and if I win, we see them again. Until then we need to train hard.". _'Kami I hope she buys it.'. _At first it seemed as though Kurumi was unbelieving. The seconds stretched to minutes as Kurumi's expression changed from confusion to understanding to joy before she turned to face her sister. "You mean if we train hard, then we could see Mommy and Daddy again?"

"Yes Kurumi, we could.". This brought back the joyful mood Ranma remembered from the previous memory. Ranma was wishing he could get out before another bout of darkness claimed him.

…

…

…

"I told you little girl. Just give us your fan and no one gets hurt."

"Yeah!"

"No I won't. You guys are a bunch of cowards.". Ranma was witnessing one of the most disgusting sights he had ever seen. In front of him were five guys attempting to bully Natsume into giving them her fan. "Aww. The widdle giwl's got a temper." one guy teased.

"Maybe we should show her how we treat stubborn girls." said the second.

"Yeah maybe. Be careful about that fan though. I'm sure my girlfriend would love it." said a third person. The way the others looked at him, Ranma could guess that this man was the boss. _'Ugh. Who would want to date this pus-ball? I can't let him hurt Kurumi but I can't let them take my fan. Kami, please help!' _Ranma pleaded as well for Natsume's sake. It didn't occur to him that her prayer was answered since she attacked him with the fan the first time they met. However before he could come to that realisation, he was shocked by the next events.

In the space of a second, all five men keeled over whilst a diminutive old man seemingly appeared out of nowhere. Ranma/Natsume was shocked, Natsume at the skill that this man possessed and Ranma at his inability to see the attack even though he was sure he could move at similar speeds. Just then, Natsume came forward and bowed to the older man. "Thank you for helping us sir. I am amazed by your skills. We are travelling martial artists travelling in an attempt to master the Art. We would be honoured if you would agree to train us."

"Oh! You two are martial artists? I apologise for interrupting then having not realised. However aren't you two too young to be travelling like this?" questioned the old man.

"We are searching for our parents. They were both martial artists of considerable ability. Maybe you may know them!" Ranma/Natsume asked, failing to hide her obvious desire for him to know so. The older man simply chuckled at this. "Why of course young ladies. If you could tell me your parents' names, I may be able to help you.". Kurumi was quite ecstatic at this but Natsume was more reserved. _'What if this guy's a pervert? he is incredibly gifted and could really hurt me and Kurumi."_, a sentiment which Ranma wholeheartedly agreed with. However before they could reply, the elderly man thumped his head with his right hand. "Oh silly me. The name's Happosai. I'm Grandmaster of the Anything Goes School of Martial Arts and am currently in search of one of my wayward students, Genma."

This caused Ranma/Natsume to relax a bit though Ranma was quite stunned by the revelation. _This is the Grandmaster? Wow! I really have to learn from him someday. His knowledge must be amazing. He looks almost as old as old ghoul. _At this, Ranma mentally smirked as he remembered how Cologne reacted when he mentioned his nickname for her. Ranma's thoughts were cut short when Ranma/Natsume replied. "Well we don't know our parents' names. We were very young when we were separated."

Happosai frowned at this. It was obvious that the answer he received was not what he wanted. Nevertheless, he decided that he may be able to remember from their names. Smiling a little, he lifted his head up to face him/her before asking "Well that's not a problem. If you could tell me your names, then I may still be able to help."

"Oh that's not a problem. My name is Natsume and my sister's name is Kurumi." he/she replied with slightly diminished enthusiasm than before, before looking hopefully at the old martial artist. Happosai shook his head before asking "Could you please tell me your full name Natsume? I'm afraid that your chosen name won't help much."

"I don't understand. What do you mean full name?". This was quite shocking to Happosai, who just realised the implications of this question. _'Damn, she doesn't know her full name. I could never help her find her parents'. _He sighed at the thought of disappointing such eager girls. '_I can't break their hope now can I. Maybe I could tell them a little white lie. Anyways it would be ample punishment for my other wayward student.' _Happosai looked up changing his face from a look of shock to a smile. "Now I remember. You are my student Soun Tendo's daughters."

"Soun Tendo?" Ranma/Natsume inquired. _So that's why they thought Mr Tendo was their father. _Ranma was brought out of his thoughts by the reply. "Yes that's right. Soun Tendo is my student and your father. I suggested to him a few years ago that he send his heir to train and then return to him. He must have chosen you. I will give you a letter. Once you feel you are ready; return to him and give this letter which will tell him that I approve of his chosen heirs.". Hearing this, Ranma/Natsume and Kurumi both squealed and threw their arms around the diminutive martial artist and hugged him. With this, the scene faded to black once more.

…

…

…

Knock, Knock!

"Just a minute." came the reply. Ranma/Natsume was waiting with Kurumi, both eager to meet their parents for the first time in 5 years. _'2 years have gone since master Happosai taught us. I hope we are good enough for dad.' _Just then, the door opened revealing a younger Soun Tendo in a dark black gi that Ranma had sometimes seen him wearing during formal occasions. "Can I help you?" he questioned. Ranma/Natsume cleared his/her throat before asking "Would you happen to be Soun Tendo?"

"Yes I am. How may I be of …". Soun was immediately cut off by a powerful hug and the squeal of daddy from both girls. The commotion had drawn the other residents to the hallway, only to see two girls weeping joyfully and calling their father daddy. Soun reacted the only way he felt was appropriate. He fainted!

A few minutes had passed until he came to. In those few minutes, Ranma/Natsume had told the other girls of how they were training to become worthy heirs of the Tendo School of Anything Goes. On hearing this; the girls immediately stared at him before Kasumi asked Soun to explain, in a quiet tone most foreign to the otherwise cheerful Kasumi. Soun simply gulped before Ranma/Natsume interrupted.

"Oh I almost forgot! Master Happosai asked me to give this to you when I got here. He said this was important.". Soun shuddered at the memories of his old master, before taking the letter apprehensively and reading it. At once, the confusion in his eyes lifted before he turned to the two newcomers. "Natsume, Kurumi, I'm sure that you must be extremely tired. Why don't you use the furo and relax for a bit while your elder sister Kasumi makes some snacks for you?". Hearing this, both girls quickly ran off in a mad dash to the furoba.

Soun turned around to see his three daughters staring quite angrily at him. Soun gulped wondering who would speak first. It was Nabiki who asked first. "Would you please explain daddy where our new 'sisters' came from?". He flinched at the ice in the tone before sighing, "You see girls" he started before turning away and looking at the koi pond. "My master has sent these two girls to me to take care of. They can't find their parents and have been looking for several years. My master took pity on them and told them that they're my daughters so that they could have a family."

On hearing this, the other girls' demeanour lightened. Kasumi was the first to reply. "Well I suppose it's okay to treat them as our long lost sisters ne?"

"I suppose so." the other two girls replied in tandem. Unknown to the family though, Ranma/Natsume was at the bottom of the stairs on her way to ask for some towels. _'I can't believe it. He is not our father? Then these past two years are a lie!' _Ranma/Natsume wanted to cry at this thought. He/she wanted to turn around, grab Kurumi and leave, but then realised how much this would break the younger girl's heart. _'No! I have to let her believe. I can't let her lose hope like I have.'_ With this thought, Ranma was about to slide once again into the familiar black before he felt a sudden jerk. Seconds later, he found himself flying into a wall on the other end of the clinic washroom. "What the?"


	25. A Friendly Hand!

Chapter 25: A Friendly Hand!

"What the?"

"Ranma, are you okay?"

"Ung. I feel like I was hit with a sledge hammer." Ranma croaked. "What happened?". Ranma noticed that he was lying on the floor on the opposite end of the washroom. He tried getting onto his feet, but his disorientation made this next to impossible. In the end, he gave up and simply shook his head around, before sitting in a yoga assan position (Authors notes: Position known for improving blood circulation, similar to Japanese seiza.) attempting to clear his head. Once he was over the greater part of his disorientation, he turned to face the dishevelled doctor.

"Doc, what's wrong?". Ranma quirked his ears as he tried to hear a response but was treated to a sound he had never heard from the normally calm doctor. "Why are you panting?". Tofu was hunched over, trying to pull in as much air as possible into his poor battered lungs. "You … don't know what … happened?" he coughed out.

"No doc! WAIT A SECOND! What about Natsume? Is she …"

"She's fine." Tofu huffed before he got up, obviously having gained control over his breathing. After taking a few calming breaths; he walked over to Natsume, lifted her head into the sink, and started washing all of the shampoo out of her hair. "Ranma, don't touch anywhere near your head until you wash your hands carefully."

"K doc. But could you please explain to me what happened? Why am I on the floor?". Tofu looked with a bit of worry at the younger martial artist before carefully schooling his face into a professional mask. "What is the last thing you remember?". Ranma thought for a minute, carefully avoiding putting his hand on his forehead as he would normally in these situations. Just then; he snapped his fingers, jumped back onto his feet, and walked over to the sink. "I was using my Ki to keep her synapses firing and prevent her memory from fading. I remember it was getting difficult to concentrate as the memories kept flowing, but then I accidentally focused on one. After that, I was surrounded by darkness and the next thing I know I was reliving some of her most important memories."

"Interesting!". Tofu walked into his study and started pacing around the rug in the centre of the room. Ranma watched this from the corner of his eyes whilst thoroughly washing his hands clean of the chemicals in the shampoo. Once satisfied that his hands were clean; he grabbed a towel from one of the racks beside the sink, dried his hands and walked towards the tired doctor. "Doc?"

"Yes Ranma?"

"What do you think happened?". Tofu stopped abruptly before facing Ranma and taking a deep breath. "I think you experienced her memories and whatever emotions she experienced, you started exhibiting them in your battle aura …"

"My battle aura? But how? I wasn't even releasing it. I couldn't have. I tried to use my Ki but it always failed.". At this, Tofu stared intensely at Ranma trying to puzzle through what little knowledge he knew, before saying "You were releasing a battle aura, in fact it was quite an intense aura. However the most surprising thing was that it was emotion based. I know for a fact that your aura is elemental but you were letting off an emotion based aura.".

Hearing this confused Ranma even further. Ranma traced the path Tofu took just a moment ago before turning to face the doctor. "Could you tell me the emotions?"

"No. I'm afraid that I was never able to read the aura properly to discern the emotions." the doctor replied. "That's alright. Did you happen to see the colours?"

Tofu wasn't sure what the appearance of the aura would be needed for but, considering Ranma's background with Ki, he gave as detailed a description as he could. "From what I saw, it was primarily a dark blue with flecks of green and a little violet. Would that help?". Whatever Tofu expected, it certainly wasn't the pigtailed martial artist standing there with pain in his eyes. "Loneliness, depression and jealousy.". Ranma started pacing around deep in thought, occasionally muttering out things like "No wonder!" and "Anyone would feel like that!".

Finally he stopped and turned to face the kindly doctor. "Tofu-san, we need to talk about what I saw.". Tofu saw the seriousness in his demeanour and immediately realised this was not up for debate. _If he's being this formal, then it must be serious._ Tofu simply pointed to the two armchairs, one on either end of a solid oak desk, standing proudly if somewhat hidden, at the back of the study. Ranma quickly took the one at the base of the table whilst Tofu walked at a much more sedate pace to the head of the table.

It was a few minutes until Ranma could speak again, and even then he would simply open his mouth, sigh and then shut it again. Finally, he managed to string up enough courage to say his next few words. "I think that Natsume might have abandonment issues.". Who knew eight little words could hit Tofu so hard. The doctor in question appeared completely shell-shocked. _It wasn't as if I didn't have any suspicions. But how could I not have realised it before? I treated her for nearly four years but still! _"Please explain Ranma." Tofu said in a muted voice almost never heard from the doctor.

Ranma simply sat there. The seconds slowly turned into minutes of unbearable silence until finally, Ranma couldn't take it anymore. "I saw everything."

"What did you see?" Tofu asked with genuine concern. Little did they know that Natsume was awake, hearing everything they were saying from behind the washroom door. If they would have turned around, as Ranma recounted the memories to the listening doctor; they would have seen tears falling silently on Natsume's face. _They know! They'll hate me won't they. I have to leave forever. I can't show my face around here. _

As Natsume prepared herself to run away; Tofu simply looked at the defeated man in front of him. Tofu personally knew from experience how powerfully confident his aura could be normally, but never had he seen a man so broken in front of him. "Ranma, what's wrong?"

"I started blaming her. I thought she was a selfish #&*%# but I never thought of how she felt. Her life was so lonely just like mine, but rather than understand our common pain, I simply accused her. Did you know she kept lying to Kurumi to keep her happy. She never had someone to comfort her like she did to Kurumi and I kept accusing her of holding Kurumi back from her true potential. I thought of her as honourless when she spent all her life giving hope whilst hers dwindled away.". Tofu walked over to the young man to give him some much needed comfort. Ranma stopped for a second, feeling the warm hand holding his shoulder tightly, Ki flowing from Tofu into himself and calming him down.

Slowly, Ranma calmed down. When Tofu felt that he was ready, he took his hand away and walked back to his chair. Ranma took a deep breath and without lifting his head, unwilling to show his face with so much vulnerability, before speaking quietly, almost in a whisper. "Tofu-san? After seeing her memories, I can't help but keep thinking about that day I told them about their parents. Did I do the right thing? I never thought before about the consequences. Everything I did usually turned out well but this is the first time that something I did caused such great after-shocks and I can't help but feel that I have wronged Natsume badly."

Natsume couldn't help but start crying harder. Not only was the boy in front of her not rejecting her; he understood her and was treating her as a person. _He's blaming himself? Why? He didn't do anything wrong but he feels responsible for me? After all I did, trying to kill Akane and sell him to the amazons, all he can think of is how badly I must feel. How can he? I'm a monster aren't I?_ "RANMA!". The force in his voice broke off Natsume's current train of thought, and she craned her neck towards the two people, sitting in the other room, trying to hear their conversation better.

"Ranma!" Tofu spoke again, this time with less force but the same firmness he held normally. "It isn't your fault. You didn't do anything wrong. In fact from what I heard, I can be pretty sure that she would be thankful of your concern."

"But how? I took away the only person who stayed with her through the pain. How could I not be wrong?"

"Ranma; if your parents abandoned you, wouldn't you want to know why they did so?"

"I guess." He sniffled.

"She wanted the same, I'm sure of it. You managed to close the most painful chapter in her life, the first step to her finally healing. Don't blame yourself. It isn't right."

"But what do I do now? I want to help her. She needs some sort of constant in her life and I think I took it away.". This was too much for Natsume to bear. She burst out of the room and hugged Ranma with as much strength as she could, sobbing freely on him as she tried to comfort the only person who cared for her. "Natsume; I think Ranma may need to breathe.". This brought Natsume out of her trance enough for her to realise that Ranma was turning a rather ugly shade of blue. She quickly released Ranma before shyly moving away, her head hanging down in embarrassment.

Ranma was desperately trying to fill his lungs with air, in a desperate attempt to return to his original colour. A few minutes of panting later and all three were facing each other. "Natsume I'm …"

"No Ranma. I'm sorry. I thought you were trying to take everything away from me so I tried to get rid of you. Now I realise that you were simply trying to make me see the mistake I was making. I … I". Just then, Ranma walked over and hugged the apologising girl, pushing as much love and comfort aura as he could into Natsume. This caused the girl to burst into tears, having not had anyone to hold her when she was alone. After an eternity, Ranma lifted her face so that both were looking into each other's eyes. "Natsume? I know that we both made mistakes about what we thought of each other. Do you think we could be friends?". Natsume looked at Ranma with in trepidation and hope, fear that his words are a cruel joke and hope that he cares. "Do you think we could be friends?"

"Y-You want to be … friends … with me?" Natsume asked, her worries clear as day to Ranma and Tofu. "Yes. I would love to be friends with you."

"I can't." she said as she turned away. "I've done too much to be forgi …". Her words were cut off abruptly when Ranma pulled her face back to face him. "Don't. I never want anyone to feel alone. I want to be there for you. I want to know your pain. I felt the pain of loneliness myself, though obviously not as badly as you."

"You? How?"

"I spent a majority of my life away from my mother, living with only my grandpa and baka of a father, who you know is an idiot. Everyone I cared for was left behind. No one should have to bear that in life. Let me in. Let me help you.". Natsume was speechless. No one had ever cared that much for her. Especially someone she knew for just a few weeks. _Can I? What if he leaves? What if he decides he hates me? Please don't hate me. _"I won't hate you."

"You won't? Promise?"

"I promise.". Tofu simply stood there, not trusting himself to break such a moment. _She finally has someone. I wish I had known her pain before. It makes me feel like a poor doctor. But at least she has a friend now. It's time she had someone. _"Let's go home now."

"Ok Ranma." Natsume replied shyly.

On the street a few hundred yards from the Tendo dojo

"Ranma?". Ranma turned to face a happier Natsume. "Yes Natsume?"

"I just … I just wanted … to say … Thank You!". Ranma just smiled whilst the pair walked towards the dojo.


	26. The Black Rose!

Chapter 26: The Black Rose!

It was normal for Nerima to be quite sunny but the weather today was seemingly perfect. It felt as if nothing could go wrong. Of course fate seemed to be tired of this peace, this being Nerima of course, so decided to intervene; thus leading to a rather wet and incredibly furious Ranma, walking along the streets towards the dojo. _It wasn't bad enough that Shampoo had to jump in and break the wall down like that but noooo! She just had to come to the assumption that I was on a date with Natsume and then insult her like that._

#Flashback#

Ranma and Natsume were sitting down with Kuno in the ice cream parlour; Ranma furiously shovelling down the shop's famous seven layer sundae; Natsume enjoying a strawberry parfait, taking dainty bites whilst giggling at the sight of Ranma eating ice-cream; Kuno watching in amusement as he took a long draw from his berry blitz smoothie. By now it had become a familiar sight in Nerima to see the three friends stop by after school, especially on hot days, and relax; enjoying a nice bowl of ice cream in the process. _How he manages to eat that fast, yet still maintains proper manners, is beyond me. _Kuno was thinking along similar lines to Natsume. He had often wondered why the Saotome youth ate food at that speed. _Surely he can't taste anything doing that, can he?_

Ranma ignored the looks his two best friends gave, as he continued to devour his sundae at an alarming speed. He was just about to finish his last bite when the wall beside the door exploded; leaving yet another pile of rubble at the feet of one of the biggest airheads Ranma had ever seen. Said purple haired airhead was furious at the scene in front of her. "Airen! No go out with weak, ugly schemer. Go out with Shampoo yes.".

The look Ranma gave to Shampoo was one that his friends had gotten used to whenever any 'amazon issues' popped up; which was more often than not considering that Ranma had been spending as much time with Natsume as Akane and Nabiki. _Either she is really brave or really stupid. Honestly, that look makes me want to run away in terror. _Natsume cringed at the thought of being on the receiving end of that look, a look that promised a world of pain to anyone who annoyed the pigtailed youth. _Thank Kami he never gave me that look. I don't think I would be able to breathe. _

Natsume snapped out of her thoughts as she craned her neck around to get a better look at what would happen to the ditzy amazon. For Ranma's part, he seemed to be holding himself well. Ranma had somehow come to the conclusion that the entirety of the amazon tribe was a bunch of masochists, _not that I could blame him after hearing about their laws_; so he had been avoiding fighting with Shampoo under any circumstances.

Sensing her preparing a strike, Ranma shot forward like a bullet from the chair he was sitting on, and struck a shiatsu point at the back of the Shampoo's neck, instantly knocking her unconscious. At the sight of this annoyance being unable to irritate him for the next few hours, Ranma was about to cheer. However what he hadn't expected was the sheer bad luck he seemed to attract whenever he was around her, acting right now.

Out of nowhere, a bucket full of water simply fell on Ranma's head, covering him from head to toe with dish water. Ranma, once coming out from shock and surprise, instantly became furious. Too angry to think straight after this, he simply stormed out of the shop; muttering profanities as he walked towards the dojo, where he hoped to take a bath.

#End Flashback#

Thus the wet grouch, that was Ranma Saotome, trudged along the path leading to the Tendo dojo. He was taking a shortcut through the park when a sound he dreaded made his already bad day even worse. "Muhahahaha!". _What Kami did I piss off . This is just not my day is it. _Ranma quickly snapped out of his thoughts as he sensed a spike of Ki coming from the direction of a young, black haired, ponytailed girl, wearing a dark coloured leotard. _Damn it! I gotta go or else. Don't need another crazy #£%$# after me today. _

Ranma was just about to leave until the sound of screams echoed in the air. Immediately forgetting his current condition, Ranma ran as fast as possible to the source of the screams; which appeared to be three boys wearing Furinkan uniforms, their faces covered with bandages to hide their identities. The sight that greeted him immediately angered the pigtailed martial artist, almost to the point of wanting to leave the boys to their fate. _Those dishonourable #$^&£%#'s deserve to be punished. What kind of man would force themselves on a girl? _

Ranma, coming to a conclusion, prepared to leave. However; his departure was cut short by the sight of a spiked juggling pin being aimed at the heart of one of the attackers. Now Ranma definitely thought that those boys deserved to be beaten; but being punished and being killed were completely different. Ranma blurred forward and threw a lightning quick jab, turning said pin into dust, before launching himself into position.

The shock on Kodachi's face was priceless, as she registered the speed at which the judo throw was executed on her. However her martial arts training, alongside her years in the gymnastics circuit, allowed her to make a swift mid-air recovery; thus she landed on her feet although with a little more force than she would have liked. Her anger took over as she glared into the impassive face of her attacker; only to change her expression from anger to lust, over the toned body of one Ranma Saotome.

"Ranma-sama! A pleasure to see you on so fine a day. If you would be so kind as to give me a few minutes to take care of these harridans; then we can go on a date.". Ranma stared at the girl incredulously, completely missing the angry stares, from the three 'attackers', aimed at the psychotic gymnast. The three 'attackers' were just getting up, ready to attack Kodachi; but Ranma quickly intervened, stepping into the path of the three attackers.

"Kodachi!" he spoke, in a quiet yet powerful voice that seemed to penetrate into the very being of the gymnast. "You will not kill them. They have been punished enough but if you persist, I will take you down!" the last few words ending in an animalistic snarl. To the credit of the psychotic youngest Kuno, she immediately realised the danger of angering her Ranma-sama further, especially since she could feel the power rolling off of him in waves. "But Ranma darling …"

"Enough Kodachi. You are a martial artist! Act like it or lose my respect forever.". The thinly veiled threat was enough to stifle any comments from Kodachi. "G-Gomen Ranma-sama. I, the black rose of St Bacchus School for Girls, will act on your opinions. Please accept my apologies."

"I accept but I'm still angry at you. I do not want to see you at all throughout the duration of today. Be warned. I will not be pleased if I do.". On hearing this; Kodachi ran full pelt towards her house, surprising the supposed 'attackers' by the speed at which her attitude changed. Ranma powered down and relaxed, taking a few deep breaths to steady himself; before turning around to face the 'attackers'. "You girls know that if you were arrested, you could have been charged for sexual assault by disguising yourselves as guys."

The 'attackers' were shocked at the casual way in which Ranma acknowledged them. "You can take off the bandages since I know you girls are from my class at Furinkan.". If they were shocked at how easily they were defeated, it was nothing compared to how shocked they were at the bombshell delivered to them by none other than their school's most eligible bachelor. _If he knew, Kodachi could also. She may attack us from behind. Oh Kami, please save us. _The three girls shuddered as this thought flowed in their minds.

Ranma chose to ignore this and simply walked over to the girls, eyes closed. Suddenly his eyes opened, flaring gold for a second. Within that second, Ranma's hands moved so fast that they left after images. Just as quickly as they turned gold, Ranma's eyes turned back to their stormy blue. Moments later; the bandages covering all three girls' faces fell off revealing them to be members of the Furinkan gymnastics team.

"Sayuri? Yuka? Miyuki? Hey guys. What are you … OH KAMI-SAMA WHAT HAPPENED TO YOU GUYS? RANMA, HOW COULD YOU DO THAT TO THEM?". Ranma stared at the newly arrived Akane, who had just come over having seen the bruises covering her two best friends and their fellow classmate. "Oh Akane it was so horrible!" cried Yuka.

"The entire gymnastics team has been beaten up by that evil psycho Kodachi." Sayuri wailed.

"And now we're gonna have to forfeit the match." Miyuki sobbed.

Akane was shocked at this revelation. _Kami! Not only did I jump to conclusions, but I insulted Ranma and accused him of attacking someone. I can't believe I made such a mistake. Now Nabiki can get her hands on him. _Unknown to her, each and every emotion she felt was flashing across her face."Not if I can help it." Akane growled. "You'll help us?" the trio squealed.

"Huh? Oh! Yeah! Don't worry. I'll fight. I can do the balance beam and …"

"No Akane!" the trio replied. "No? I thought you needed help." Akane asked, clearly confused at the forceful reaction to her suggestion. Just then, Sayuri spoke up. "We do. However we need help in our weakest event, and only you can help."

"Which event would that be?"

"Martial Arts Rhythmic Gymnastics!"


	27. Martial Arts Rhythmic Gymnastics!

Chapter 27: Martial Arts Rhythmic Gymnastics!

"Martial Arts Rhythmic Gymnastics!"

2 hours later

Annoying as this was; Ranma was forced to stay and make sure that the girls in front of him stay alive till the match. _I can't believe they drafted me in guard duty. _Ranma's thoughts were interrupted by the sound of yet another bowling pin falling on the ground. _I can't believe Akane was so stubborn that she refused any help. C'mon! That's just plain stupid. _Said girl was completely oblivious to the looks of disdain being aimed at the back of her head. 'CLUNK'. _Again! _'THUMP'. _Again! _'CRASH'. _Again! _'PLOP'. "Aww come on! How did that happen?" Akane wailed.

Natsume was simply stunned into silence by the atrocity, which was Akane juggling. It seemed as though she had no talent with esoteric weapons even though her style was based on them. _Honestly, she can make blades and mallets out of Ki but the second she picks up a bowling pin, it's like she never even touched a weapon before. I get that she never juggled before but how she managed to get the pin to fall in the koi pond, with her back facing it, is beyond me._

It was at this time that Ranma couldn't help but wonder how those girls ever expected Akane to win this. _That girl is a martial artist so why the hell is she this clumsy? It's as if she had no balance or awareness training whatsoever. _Little did Ranma know that his sentiments were actually correct. One Mr Soun Tendo was very lucky to be out of the house, since Ranma was developing a slight twitch from exercising control so as not to search for him and strangle the man. 'THUMP'. "Ow-Ow-Ow-Ow-Ow-Ow-Ow …". Ranma shook his head tiredly, remembering how he ended up in this situation; desperately trying to avoid watching Akane hopping around cradling one foot in her hands.

#Flashback#

Ranma and co were sitting in the dojo; Ranma sitting next to Akane, with Natsume and the trio from the Furinkan Gymnastics club directly opposite them. From what he had seen of Kodachi; he knew that the delusional gymnast had a penchant for theatrics and her unorthodox upbringing gave her a serious superiority complex. He also knew that her moral code was loose at best, making her ideals subject to her mood. When this led to attacking competition, he didn't know; but he did know that if she continued, Akane could get killed.

"So what is Martial Arts Rhythmic Gymnastics? You were explaining it earlier but I didn't understand it so much." Akane questioned. Ranma simply looked at the trio from the gymnastics team. Although by principle; he wasn't exactly a fan of gymnastics, or anything else he deemed unmanly (thanks to a certain auburn haired Saotome), but the words 'Martial Arts' drew him in. He turned his head to face Sayuri as she began her explanation.

"Martial Arts Rhythmic Gymnastics is an event where two gymnasts face each other in a ring. The two gymnasts are barred from using direct physical attacks. Instead they can only use a set of gymnastics tools as weapons."

"What kind of crazy event is that?". Ranma was practically fuming. _Here I thought that this would be a good learning experience yet I was wrong again. How many perversions of the Art are there in this world? _"I have to agree with Ranma there. This is the biggest load of #$^&*%£# I have ever heard of."

"NATSUME!" the remaining girls exclaimed. Ranma simply sweat dropped. He had learnt, rather early on in their friendship, that Natsume was quite vocal about any displeasure; leading to some very interesting and verbose confrontations. However it was a trait that he could forgive considering how she rarely lost her cool. _Also it's quite fun to see Kasumi hit Natsume's hand with a spoon every time she does that. _Unconsciously smirking, he almost didn't hear the acknowledgements to her statement.

"What?" he said looking rather stupid, but he ignored it at the moment.

"Well it is the stupidest event ever." Miyuki replied. "Just look at the rules and you'll see what I mean. It's almost as if it was made by an insane person.". Ranma simply picked up the rule book and started flicking through pages at a phenomenal pace. After a few seconds; he stopped on a page, then blanched. Silently, he handed the book to Natsume before walking over to the koi pond supressing snickers as hardly as possible as he went along until he couldn't hold any longer, then burst into uncontrollable laughter. Natsume merely looked puzzled before she read the page and ran towards the koi pond, desperately trying not to laugh.

The four remaining members of the meeting, simply looked at the book completely baffled at their friends' irrational reaction. "What did they see?"

"I don't know but I'm kinda worried. Try to figure it out Sayuri."

"No thanks. They're creeping me out. You try it Miyuki."

"No way. Yuka, you try it."

"Yeah Yuka. You try it."

"Waah. I don't wanna.". Akane couldn't believe the stupidity that was being displayed. Turning around, she simply picked up the book and read through the page. It was apparent that she couldn't understand the commotion, and the look on her face showed her frustration. She gave up after reading the page for what seemed like the umpteenth time. "I GIVE UP! What's the matter?"

"Yeah what gives?" the gymnastics team members parroted.

Ranma and Natsume continued their laughter, tears in both eyes. This just served to irritate Akane even more until Ranma finally managed to reign in his laughter. After a few deep breaths to steady himself, he walked over to the book, put it in the middle of the group; then he put his finger onto the page before asking Akane "Read this bit out loud will you?". Akane simply stared in frustration but complied. "Rule 1675: All rules are subject to the will of K. Kuno, creator of Martial Arts Rhythmic Gymnastics. K. Kuno? Who's she?".

"Kuno-kun's crazy sister!". At this, the duo cracked up again.

"Oh great, another crazy Kuno. Now I'm definitely gonna have to beat her."

"You'll help?". Akane nodded at this before cracking a rather Ranmaesque grin and replying "Give me two weeks and I'll be done."

#End Flashback#

Now that he thought about it, Ranma was seriously questioning the sanity of letting Akane agree to this. It was clearly stupid and highly pointless to let Akane do this event. _Damn it. Why doesn't she listen to me? She's really acting like an annoying tomboy. _At this thought, Ranma smirked. _It's nice she's acting a bit more like she really is. Though it's kinda obvious that she had no chance with her skills._

It seemed like Natsume was thinking on the same lines, as she walked over to the pile of pins in the middle of the dojo, picked up the pile, and started juggling. Ranma was mildly impressed as Natsume gradually picked up speed until the pins were nothing but red and white blurs. Seeing that she was the source of Ranma's amusement; she decided to make her friend pay for doing this. Suddenly she threw the pins at full speed, aiming at the stationary Ranma.

Ranma's eyes widened before he deftly caught each pin, tossed them in the air, and continued juggling; shaking as he did so in an attempt to regain his balance. Natsume smirked before walking over to the crate of pins, grabbing the remaining three pins. Her first throw was caught by Ranma quite easily as he regained his balance. Soon, the pins were moving with much more speed than when Natsume was juggling them. Akane simply looked in awe as he caught the next pin which was aimed above all the pins, swiftly adding it to the group and continuing juggling as if nothing happened.

Impressed, Natsume aimed the last pin at Ranma's feet, intending to trip up the near infallible martial artist. Ranma simply smirked before swiftly kicking the pin into his hand and continuing his juggling, which he continued for a few minutes. The shock Natsume had, from seeing her joke foiled, was nothing compared to her facefault at what happened next. Ranma caught all the pins before throwing them into the air; then jumped up in the air himself, kicking the pin heads with such speed that the pins almost teleported into the crate at the far side of the dojo.

Akane stared open mouthed at the pigtailed martial artist in front of her, before begging for begging for him to forgive her for her previous arrogance and train her. Ranma looked at her, giving an appraising look, whilst playing with his chin in what seemed to be mock thinking. "Hmm!". Ranma walked in circles around Akane, who was steadily getting more nervous by the minute. "Ranma?"

"OK! I'll train you."


	28. The Black Rose Strikes!

Chapter 28: The Black Rose Strikes!

It was late in the evening, and all the lights in the Tendo home were closed; except for one. "Aah!". Akane had just entered the tub, attempting to wash away the pain from her brutal training session. _I can't believe that I survived that. Ranma is brutal. _

#Flashback#

"Alright Akane; take your position.". Ranma and Akane were on the dojo floor, preparing for the first step in Akane's training. "Aww come on Ranma! Why can't I do the drills you gave Natsume?". At this; both Ranma and Akane looked pointedly at Natsume who, at that moment, was struggling to do one-handedly juggling whilst twirling a ribbon in the second. For a moment; Ranma was stunned at how she could so casually ask such a question, but thought better of it and began to explain.

"Natsume is already experienced in compensating for weapon weight and other aspects since she was originally a weapons expert. As such, she is advancing her current training to improve her dexterity; a trait that needs to be quite high for a weapons master. You, on the other hand, have no experience in using weapons apart from your school's Ki constructs. As such, we need to work on your strength and stamina so you can use real weapons for a greater duration."

Akane was about to argue but a look from Ranma made her think twice, and she walked to pick up the set of pins, she had to juggle. "Alright Akane; pay attention! We are going to improve both your strength and your situational awareness today using these."

"Beanbags?" Akane asked, her face showing her unvoiced confusion. Ranma didn't seem to notice as he continued with his explanation. "Yes beanbags! Your task is to juggle those pins for 10 minutes without dropping a pin or getting hit with a beanbag. The time will start again for every time you drop a pin or get hit with the beanbag. You will not be allowed to stop until you succeed. Are you ready?"

Worry was etched on Akane's face. _It can't be that simple can it?_

#End Flashback#

"Man was Ranma brutal. I think the bruises are going to last for a week." she whispered softly. 'DONG'. "Oh my how late! I better get to bed". Akane quickly got out of the bath, unaware of the fleeting moment during which she channelled Kasumi, and hurriedly changed into a pair of yellow pyjamas embroided with black piglets.

Meanwhile in Ranma's room

"Where is it? Where is it?" one bag flew through the air. "Where is it?" a desk drawer was pulled out and contents tipped over the futon. "Not here then where?" pretty soon the entire room was a veritable mess. Pouches, clothes and various other bits and pieces were almost flying about in a maelstrom above the floor. "Found it!" Ranma yelled, thrusting his hand up in victory. However, before he could get up; a drawer fell on top of his head knocking him to the floor. Ranma shrugged it off, shaking his head to alleviate the pain, and got up before getting paralyzed in shock at the sight in front of him.

_WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED?_ he wailed mentally as thoughts of cleaning the room, before sleeping, filled his tired mind. Deciding to leave this for later, Ranma dejectedly trudged through the mess that was his room, walking towards the hallway, intending to go to Akane's room to hand over a jar of his very own Saotome special salve. The seconds flew by as he walked down the hall, until he reached a door with a wooden duck on it. Ranma chuckled as he read the word 'AKANE' written lovingly in Romanji, just like the wooden duck hanging over his own door.

Just as he was about to enter the room, he realised the potential scandal waiting to happen if he was to enter uninvited. Deciding to be careful, he decided to knock, having sensed an aura in the room. 'KNOCK-KNOCK'. 'Silence'! _That's strange. _Ranma mused. _I know there's someone there so why isn't she answering? _Deciding that she may be sleeping, Ranma knocks harder before calling out "Hey Akane; I just wanted to ask you whether you wanted any of this healing salve. It should sort out any bruising. You in there Akane?". 'Silence'! Now Ranma was worried. _Did I tire her out too much? Is she ok? _

Shaking his head, Ranma decided to enter quickly and make sure she was alright. "Ok Akane; I'm coming in.". _Still no response! _Ranma slowly inched open the door, walking into the dark room carefully, trying not to disturb anyone. _Oh Kami, if she wakes up I'll be dead in no time. _With years of stealth training under his belt due to Genma's many years of thievery; Ranma snuck in, barely making contact with the cold wood floor beneath his feet, until he was standing in the centre of the room. _So this is what it looks like. It's almost too girly for it to be Akane's room. I wouldn't have imagined it to be the room of Nerima's resident tomboy._

His thoughts were interrupted by his danger sense, which was almost begging him to turn around and run away. Ranma chose to ignore it, deciding to trust in his reflexes, before scanning the room with his Ki-sight. What surprised him was how this aura, which was not Akane's, was so familiar. However this was nothing compared to the fact that it was hanging from the ceiling. Ranma's head shot up quickly to see the 'Black Rose' hanging over the bed with a mallet. Her brown eyes met his silver and she jumped down, attempting to knock out the one who saw her.

Kodachi ran forward, bringing the mallet down in an overhead swing, intending to knock out her opponent. Instead; she found her opponent twisting out of the way, at the last second, before launching a straight left jab at her triceps. This did the trick as she was unable to lift the heavy mallet any more. Moving to throw a punch, she was surprised to see her opponent sway with the punch before yanking her arm and twisting inside her body, before throwing her over his shoulder in a judo throw.

The force of the throw ended up catapulting said leotard clad girl through the window with a large crash, thus alerting everyone in the house. The door burst open immediately; Akane at the forefront, followed by Nabiki and Soun, Natsume just behind and Kasumi at the lag end and taking full advantage of the 3 inch difference in their heights by staring over Nabiki's head.

"Oh my" (You know who)

"Son? What happened?" exclaimed Soun.

"Why Ranma-baby, if you wanted to see Akane in the night, the least you could do is not make such a loud crash."

"I-I-I …". Nabiki smirked as she watched Ranma v1.0 try to reboot whilst the remaining members acted as usual. Soun was crying buckets whilst toasting himself and blubbering out "Finally the schools will be joined.". "Oh my. Ranma you really shouldn't do this before you're married. It isn't proper.". Kasumi simply shook her head as she said this; her lips pressed into a slim line with the ends curling into a frown. Ranma shivered at how unnatural disappointment looked on Kasumi's face. Akane's aura simply flared out red, her body shaking visibly while she said "RANMA! WHAT ARE YOU DOING IN MY ROOM?". Natsume was cracking her knuckles menacingly in the background.

Ranma gulped audibly as the youngest Tendo sisters ganged up on him, drawing closer to his body, almost visibly growing as they got closer. Just then, Natsume noticed the mess of rose petals on the floor and the position of the window. "Kodachi!" she muttered. "What?"

"Kodachi came in to attack you. I sensed someone in here who shouldn't be and came to make sure you were ok.". _I don't need to tell them I came in here before sensing her. I'd never hear the end of it if I did. _Akane was speechless. Her dream guy thought she was in danger and tried to protect her. "Thank you Ranma!". Akane nearly choked these words out as she started tearing up in joy at the thought of Ranma caring for her.

"Well that's all well and good but why are you still awake and wandering around the house?". Ranma was worried on hearing this question. _Trust Nabiki to ask the one question I was trying to avoid. _"Uhm … Well …"

"Yes Ranma? What were you doing?". Now the entire Tendo family was staring at Ranma convinced that he was doing something wrong. "Look Akane. All I wanted to do was give you this salve. It should help with your bruises."

"Bruises? My baby girl has bruises? RANMA, HOW DARE YOU HURT MY DAUGHTER?" Soun using his demon head technique as he yelled.

"Well how else was he supposed to train me daddy?" Akane challenged.

"Waaaah! Kasumi, my baby girl hates me.". Kasumi simply walked over to her father, attempting to soothe the crying Tendo patriarch. _And to think I thought him to be strong. Boy was I wrong. _Ranma thought as he looked at this scene with disdain. "Well I'm off to bed you guys. I don't know about you but I really need the sleep.". With this, Ranma walked off, yawning the way to his room.

The next day

Ranma, Akane and Natsume were walking across the gates, chatting amicably as they went to their classes. Just as they passed the gate; a large shadow hovered over Akane's body, giving the impression of a girl coming at an incredible speed. Akane simply rolled out of the way and launched a punch at her attacker only for her to move with the blow and angle her mallet for a strike. Ranma looked at Natsume, who just nodded. Suddenly the two friends burst forward, Ranma grabbing the mallet and breaking the head off the handle, Natsume throwing a punch and attacking with Akane to pin down their elusive attacker.

Just then, a swift breeze plucked the sports cap off of the girl's head revealing her to be Kodachi. Anger flowed through Ranma as he walked forward, aura ablaze, only stopping once he reached the gymnast and coldly regarding her. "What do you think you're doing?" he questioned in a voice that everyone silently agreed that they wanted no part of. It was unknown as to whether or not Kodachi was oblivious to the rather obvious warning signs or just plain stupid but her next comment definitely raised the question to her sanity. "Muhahahaha. My dear Ranma-sama, all I am doing is taking care of a little pest problem."

"So attacking your opponents, before they can make the challenge, is your idea of competing?" Akane challenged.

"I just believe in fairness before the fight. Anyways it doesn't matter." she exclaimed before turning to face Ranma. "Would you be willing to join me for dinner tonight? Just the two of us?"

"Wh-What? Now look here you hussy. I'm Ranma's fiancé so don't you get any ideas about having any dates with him." Akane yelled as Ranma frantically tried to calm her down. However the damage was done. "You're engaged?"

"I thought you hated boys Akane."

"Akane, say it isn't so!"

"Have you guys kissed?"

"How far have you gone?"

All questions ceased as a visible battle aura revealed itself around a rather angry Kodachi. "FIANCE? I forbid it. Ranma-sama, I will take care of this harridan so that we can be together.". With this; Kodachi ran towards Akane, attempting to kill Akane, but was quickly intercepted by Ranma, his battle aura blazing making it seem as if flames were flickering in his eyes. This caused everyone to back away from the martial artist, including Akane and Natsume. "You will do no such thing." he said, stressing each and every word as he spoke.

"Here is how it will work. You will face Akane on the day of the match and not one attack will be launched at Akane before the day of the match whatsoever. If you win, I will go on a date with you. If you lose, you will have to give up your passion for me. Deal?". Kodachi looked at her 'Ranma-sama' before thinking to herself. _If I win, I get a date with my darling Ranma-sama. If I lose, I have to give up my passion for him. I cannot attack that harridan before then but then again she will not be able to defeat the black rose. _

Kodachi, now finished with her deliberation, turned to face Ranma. "I accept my love. And once I defeat this harridan, you will finally that we are meant to be.". With this, Kodachi leapt to the air cackling madly as she bound off towards her own school. "Truly my twisted sister is evil. I must warn you that her definition of a fair fight is rather loose. I would be careful around her Tendo-san …" he said before turning around, continuing in a slightly hurt tone "… and congratulations on yours and Ranma-kun's engagement. I wish you the best of luck"

With this, Kuno walked towards his class leaving Ranma, Akane and Kodachi staring at the defeated kendoka. "We need to help him through this Ranma."

"I know Natsume. But somehow I think this may come back and bite us in the butt later on.". With this, the trio walked towards school, their minds each trying to gain a grasp over the most recent events.


	29. Wait What?

Chapter 29: Wait What?

The days before the tournament came and went by as Ranma continued to train both his charges for the upcoming tournament. Although it was obvious that Natsume was better than Akane, it was decided that Akane needed the battle experience, so she would be the one to face Kodachi. _This doesn't mean that I won't keep Natsume prepared in case something happens. _

Ranma turned to face Akane, who was just completing a spinning flip, before throwing a pair of bowling pins at Ranma. Barely batting an eyelid; Ranma seemingly melted around the pins almost as if he was made of water. "No fair Ranma. Stay still!"

"Then how will you get any experience in hitting a moving target? Ne Akane?". Akane's fury simply bled away at the comment and left her looking put down, but at recognising the teasing tone in his voice didn't shift to her normal safety net (anger). She knew that she was risking any form of relationship with Ranma if she continued being angry. Ranma had made that quite self-evident, when he went through an elaborate rant about 'baka pandas', that he absolutely detested people with little control over base emotions.

"Well I'm not going to screw it up." she whispered to herself.

"Let's call it a day Akane."

"Ok!". With that, Akane turned around to go to the furo, whilst Ranma was packing away the equipment the Furinkan gymnastics team lent them. _At least I can make it easier for them especially considering how much help they gave us. _"Ahhhhh!". 'THUMP' Ranma turned around so fast that it was a miracle he avoided whiplash. "What happened?"

The scene in front of him was disappointing to say the least. "You scream as if someone is attacking you and the problem was that you fell down?". Ranma was about to continue until he noticed Akane clutching her ankle in pain. Quick as a flash; he was beside the girl, examining the injuries she had gotten. "This is not good, not good at all!" he murmured to himself.

The next day

"Alright Akane; just keep resting for today."

"Ranma! I only twisted my ankle. There's nothing to worry about.". Ranma was standing over Akane's bed, examining the damage that happened last night. Akane's training had really done a number on her joints and it was lucky, _according to the doc_, that all that happened was a serious twist. At the rate it was going, she could have had a complex break and that was something that disappointed Ranma. _She should have told me that the training was too strenuous. I should have known._

"At least Natsume is already the second in this tournament. So long as Kodachi doesn't get her, I can be safe from harm."

"RANMA!" Natsume shouted indignantly. "Honestly!" she huffed. "Hey you try dating a psychotic Kuno and tell me how you feel."

"Hey I resent that remark Ranma-Kun! My sister may be crazy as hell but I am not, at least not anymore."

"Quit your whining. I was referring to Kodachi and your father. You're too sane to be a Kuno."

"Ranma's right on this one Tachi-Kun. You sure you aren't adopted?". Natsume was having the time of her life teasing Kuno like this. She thought it was adorable every time he blushed from one of her comments.

"I'm pretty sure. Personally; I am under the belief that some Kami decided to be gracious to my 'loving' family and send a partially deluded son instead of a fully deluded one.". With this, the trio left the Tendo home and began their walk towards St Bacchus, the site of the tournament. They walked in amicable silence, both Ranma and Kuno not willing to distract Natsume's thoughts from the tournament.

…

Ranma was pacing outside the girls locker room. It had been a nerve wracking 15 minutes since Natsume went in to change and Ranma was sure that Kodachi must have noticed the blatantly obvious loophole in the rules, which Nabiki had pointed out. _I can't believe I didn't think that she could attack on the day of the tournament. Hopefully she is just changing. _Just then, Ranma was called by Sayuri. "Ranma, is Natsume ready? She needs to be down here in five minutes or she will have to forfeit."

"Sure! I'll just check on her.". With this, Ranma decided to check on her using his Ki-sight through the door. Just then, he noticed something off about her Ki flow. _Oh no. _Ranma burst through the door to be greeted by the sight of Natsume curled up on the floor, unable to move. Rushing to the girl; he brought forward his hands to her mouth and nose, where he noticed a yellowy residue. "Paralysis powder!" he growled. "Sayuri, come over here. We need some help."

With this, the entirety of the Furinkan gymnastics team came forward to see what happened to their saviour. "Oh Kami-sama almighty, what happened?"

"What do we do?"

"We'll lose."

"QUIET!" Ranma yelled. It was obvious that Kodachi was behind this. "We need to figure out some rule we can use against her. That way, we can get out of this."

"But the rules are subject to her whim. What can we do? If we try anything, she will simply change them." Sayuri wailed.

"I'll stall. You try to find something. I'm not gonna let Kodachi get away with this.". With that, Ranma walked over to the ring, almost wishing that he had received that curse from Jusenkyo. It would have been extremely useful to him if he could turn into a girl and act as the third for this tournament. However such was his luck that he was 'too good' to be affected by Jusenkyo. (He may be able to back up his skills but let's face it, Ranma is an arrogant #~"£%£#)

"Excuse me? I'm afraid there are some difficulties and our competitor is requesting a little more time."

"Who are you?" asked the referee.

"I'm Ranma Saotome, friend and trainer of the competitor.". Meanwhile, the girls were frantically searching for a loophole in the rules to this game. "C'mon, c'mon."

"Underhanded tactics."

"No, that says they can be used on the second Sunday of every month, which happens to be today."

"Damn! What about this?"

"No, we can't petition against her since it says that #"£$# Kuno has the ability to overrule the judge."

"Oh come on! What the hell can we do?" the other girls wailed. "If only Ranma could compete."

"Say that again Yuka?"

"What Sayuri?"

"Say that again."

"What? About Ranma being able to compete?"

"Yeah." The other girls sweat dropped as they watched the brown haired co-best friend of Akane, going through the book with incredible speed. "Got it. There's no rule against boys competing. Ranma can fight on our behalf."

"Say what?" the other girls deadpanned on hearing this. "For some reason, the sport rule book doesn't specify any rule changes when a girl is against a boy. Because of this, Ranma can compete against them and win for us."

"I think that's a great idea. However we have one problem." Yuka replied.

"What?" asked Sayuri.

"How do we get Ranma to agree and get him into a man's leotard?". At this thought, a little blood started to dribble under each girl's nose. It was just their luck that Kodachi happened to pass by and ruin their dreams by shouting out her latest rule change. "I, Kodachi Kuno, the Black Rose of St Bacchus, hereby decree that if the contestants are not in the ring fifteen minutes after the calling bell, then the match is forfeit.". On this, many of the students on the St Bacchus side started cheering loudly whilst boos and hisses were emanating from the Furinkan side.

"What do we do? We need a contestant in another 3 minutes or we forfeit."

"Don't worry, I've got it covered. Oh Ranma!". Ranma looked in the direction of the sound to see a waving Miyuki. Breaking out of full panic mode, he near ran forward under the impression that they had somehow, against all odds, found a way to get out of this. "Did you find something?". Now under normal circumstances, Ranma was perfectly capable of realising when a situation was about to go bad. However the nervousness from possibly having to date Kodachi had caused his danger senses to stay on constantly. This, coupled with the overly innocent looks the girl in front of him was giving, led to the other girls praying for his soul.

"Wha … wait! What're you doing?". The girls surrounded him in a ring walking slowly, a predatory gleam in their eyes. "Oh Ranma!" they beckoned him forward, Miyuki pulling out a leotard from nowhere. _Does she know how to use hammerspace? Did Akane teach her? _His thoughts were brought abruptly to an end as the group of girls jumped onto the Saotome heir. "Ahhhhh!". A dust cloud surrounded the group as Ranma was struggling against the five girls.

A minute later, the dust cloud settled revealing a rather red faced Ranma wearing a form fitting leotard, causing all the girls to swoon, a good majority of them fainting due to blood loss. Even Kodachi was finding it difficult to deal with the sight of her wild stallion, Ranma-sama, wearing a leotard. In her sick, delusional mind, it was almost as if they were meant for each other. Everyone else knew better. However they weren't going to voice their opinions to the crazed Kuno sister.

"My darling Ranma-sama! You are aiding me in this fight to defeat that violent harridan and that peasant girl? Surely the gods deem us a worthy match …"

"Sorry Kodachi but he's your opponent considering you took out the other two."

"Wait what? What the hell is going on Miyuki?"

"Listen Ranma, you're the only one who can fight Kodachi and the rules don't have a clause against you fighting her. You're our only hope. Besides, I'm sure that with you fighting, we can avoid giving her first prize.". At that note, Ranma shuddered as he thought of all the 'interesting' date ideas the delusional gymnast had. "Fine!" he sighed out. "But it doesn't mean I have to like this.". With that, Ranma jumped the three metres separating the ring from the ground below. "It's show time."

"Muhahahaha! Do you really think that my darling Ranma-sama would strike me? He would graciously lose to …". With that; Ranma moved like quicksilver, immediately taking a club from his support team, and struck Kodachi in the stomach with such force that she was lifted up two feet before collapsing in an unconscious heap. The girls were stunned. Never had they seen Ranma being so ferocious and deadly, and the animal magnetism emerging from him made the girls want him even more, the girls from audience cheering his name out as he walked towards the judge. Said judge was squirming around in worry. Normally; she was paid to ensure that the votes favoured Kodachi, but never had she seen such a vicious display.

"I declare Ranma Saotome as the winner.". With this, the entire hall was filled with cheers and shrieks of joy as the girls from the Furinkan gymnastics team hoisted their hero on their shoulders and carried him out to celebrate with ice cream. _And maybe he might be willing to play around with some hot fudge. _a thought present in the minds of most of the team members. For his part, Ranma was simply content at having gotten away for that crazy Kuno once again. "I don't need any more nut jobs in my life. One is enough."

In the Temple of the Iron Rabbit, a young woman of nineteen just sneezed. "Oh! It seems that someone must be talking about me. Probably Ranma!". At this, she sighed as more thoughts of showering Ranma with affection were flowing through her mind.


	30. Grandpa's back!

Chapter 30: Grandpa's back!

"I just feel bad that I hurt her so much.". Ranma and Natsume were walking back to the dojo, discussing what had widely become known in Nerima as the 'Clipping of the Annoying Rose'. "Ranma, you aren't at fault here. It was her fault that she was unable to think clearly and block that attack. Honestly, I also expected her to be able to withstand that attack. Akane could withstand that so surely an expert should too."

If one looked at the path they were taking; they would notice that the friendly duo had been visiting Nerima General, a trip that had been taken every day for the last 2 weeks. The reason for this was quite astounding. Ranma hit Kodachi so hard that her stomach and possibly many internal organs were bruised. "I know, but it still feels like I lost control. I'm a martial artist damn it.". Ranma was saddened by this, but quickly changed his mood with his next sentence. "I was quite impressed with Kuno though. He took it quite well." Ranma commented. Natsume noticed that Ranma wanted to change the flow of the conversation, and gladly obliged; turned around to face the pigtailed boy, adopting the comically overused thinking pose. "Well". This broke Ranma out of his silent laughing fit over the pose. "Well what?"

"I think that he is glad that he's just happy that the drugs can finally be flushed out of her system, at a more significant pace, without dealing with significant withdrawal.". Ranma couldn't, for the life of him, figure out how in the world Kodachi managed to get such a high concentration of the hallucinogens in her bloodstream. _Honestly, 69mg is a bit much. She couldn't have gotten a large amount even if she shot a pure sample with a hypodermic syringe. _"It's so sad though that they still think they'll need to deal with withdrawal for another year.". Natsume couldn't help but agree with this. She remembered the conversation they had with Kuno when they first arrived at the hospital and shuddered.

"True. One year isn't bad though. It would have taken 5 at the rate that Kuno was able to work at. In fact, I think the doctors were kind of hoping that you would knock her out a few more times so they could finally get rid of the drugs in her.". Ranma simply glared at Natsume, who changed her smirk into a sad frown when she realised she crossed a line in her teasing. _I cannot ruin THIS. This is my first true friendship with someone who understands and respects me and I won't make any mistakes with this. _"Sorry Ranma."

True to Ranma's nature, he immediately forgave and forgot. _Sometimes he's a bit too forgiving but I guess without that, he wouldn't be Ranma. _Natsume's thoughts were broken at Ranma's next words. "But I still can't understand what the holdup was that if the situation continued as before, it would take 5 years for Kodachi's system to be flushed clean.". _So much for understand me. _She sighed at the thought on her mind, before shutting it out and turning to face Ranma. "Kuno couldn't do much more than ventilate her room of the fumes, and get her room cleaned more often. Did you know they hired a full blown Hazmat team to make sure her room stayed clean?"

Ranma stared at her incredulously to try and determine the level of #~ $^£&# in that statement. Seeing none, he turned to face the path ahead of him before replying. "I don't know whether to trust anything that Nabiki, or the rest of Furinkan for that matter, is sprouting out about this. They seem rather stupid. Though to be honest, Nabiki's rumours tend to be more accurate than most."

"You know, I thought she was going to give up on that." Natsume said, placing her hands behind her head in a Ranmaesque move she had adopted for serious discussions. "Ever since I told her that she would never get a man acting like that; she's been trying to cut down on her moneymaking schemes. Figures Furinkan's famous 'Ice Queen' couldn't stop selling rumours.". Natsume giggled a little at the image of Nabiki not selling information to the gullible masses of their school, or as Nabiki dubbed them, 'Nerima's most Idiotic'; a title she coined after a TV show she liked to see on pay per view every once in a while.

"You know I don't really blame her on that.". This shocked Natsume to a stop. _Ranma? Thinking accepting Nabiki's blackmail and information brokering? Is the world coming to an end? _"She does have to bring in funds for the dojo and all. She's too young to get a well-paying job and let's face it; this is Nerima, king of bad job prospects. She'd be lucky to get a job as a waitress let alone in something better paying."

This brought a rather large wave of shame over Natsume. She had noticed during their rather frequent discussions that Ranma had a rather simplistic world view about right and wrong. However; when he had an opinion about someone's actions, they were usually well founded and thought through clearly so as to take into account the perpetrators motives. _He'd make an amazing detective. Ranma Saotome PI. _

The pair was about a kilometre away when Ranma recognised a familiar aura permeating the air. "It can't be?" he whispered aloud. Immediately; he broke into a sprint, heading towards the Tendo Dojo as fast as possible and leaving a struggling Natsume to try and catch him, AGAIN. "I swear he's worse than a puppy …" she muttered, following up with a string of obscenities as she ran to try and figure out who had intrigued her friend this time.

Although reluctant to admit it, she was kind of hoping to avoid some of the action that usually followed one of Ranma's 'friends' arriving. After all, who would want a crazy Chinese hussy to attack you with a memory wiping technique and try to kill your sisters so that she could marry your potential fiancé? She conveniently ignored her part in all of this, especially considering that she was simply angry with losing another loved one in her life. However she would always remember the acceptance he gave her. '_Never again!' _she vowed mentally, before running at top speed to try and see her new opponent.

Meanwhile at the Tendo dojo,

Kasumi was just making a cup of tea for her guest as he chatted amicably with the other Tendos. She was just about to enter the room when she was greeted with the cutest image ever; a bustling, jumping, and just plain giddy Ranma, hugging the daylights out of their guest. Seeing this image created a need for Kasumi to document this event for austerity, in the form of a picture, so when no one was looking; she grabbed Nabiki's newest camera and snapped a couple of pictures so fast that people would think she was a journalist. She then took out the film and pocketed it, fully intent on getting it developed as fast as possible.

'BANG'. "Where's Ranma?". Suddenly the room was graced by a less than excited, and heavily armoured Natsume, wearing a ridiculously oversized football helmet she 'borrowed' from one of the members of the Furinkan American football team, as well as Soun's samurai armour and brandishing a rather large pole arm. "Oh my!". The whole room suddenly face faulted at the comment from the eldest Tendo, who was almost tempted to say "Flies everyone!", however restrained since it would be 'most improper'. She giggled as the rest of the members slowly woke up from their stupor, only to stare at the adopted Tendo with questioning looks.

Said Tendo took a second to get her bearings and look around the living room, only to notice that their guest was an old man who was experiencing what could only be known as a 'death glomp'. "Ranma?" she asked, her voice almost dripping with mock innocence. Now for those of you who have read **this** story, we know that Ranma can be quite intelligent and incredibly perceptive. This is not one of those times. "Yes?" he asked not really understanding the danger he had just invoked.

Natsume walked up to the young martial artist, her body language almost making the others wonder whether they would die in diabetic shock. For now, they settled for shaking their heads at the, albeit rare, moment of utter stupidity from the Saotome heir. Ranma didn't notice a thing as Natsume was right in front of him. Pouting cutely, she gestured for Ranma to come closer. He obliged. "WHO THE HELL IS THIS?" she shouted, causing Ranma to reel back in pain, clutching his ears and bending over in an attempt to try and stop the ringing.

The man, standing next to him, howled in laughter at the pigtailed youth's antics, earning him a baleful glare from said youth. When he could finally hear without C# playing in his ears at the same time, he stood up and looked angrily at Natsume. Natsume didn't care though as her mind thought of all possible ways to defend from oncoming hair care products. "You didn't need to shout you know." he mumbled before turning to face the Tendo's. "This is my grandpa, Genryu Saotome. He taught me my **true** family style …"

"But son, you're true family style is the Anything Goes style."

"I'm afraid it isn't Mr Tendo. I studied this style along with Anything Goes and favour this style above the other. In fact, the reason I practise Anything Goes is since at least Oyaji doesn't give me grief about not carrying on the school he founded. Anyways; so grandpa, you said something was going on?". Ranma turned to face Genryu, whose face turned from a look of barely constrained laughter to one of true pride. "Ranma, I wanted to come and tell you the news once I heard. You have been sent a very prestigious invitation to join the Onyx Council."

"Th-th-the O-On-nyx C-C-C-Council!". Everyone turned to see a stuttering Soun as he tried to comprehend the enormity of this situation. "They sent Ranma an invitation and so I came in order to ensure you're ready.". Genryu smirked as he noticed that Soun was still unable to form words of any shape. Then, he turned to see five sets of eyes looking at him to explain. Sitting down and waving to them to do the same; they all arranged themselves in an arc around Genryu, Ranma in the middle. "This is going to be a long story …".


	31. The Onyx Council!

Chapter 31: The Onyx Council!

"So Grandpa; what is the Onyx Council?". Everyone had relocated to the dojo in an attempt to learn what was going on. So far, they were all confused about this Onyx Council was, but it appeared to be incredibly important. That brought up the question of what they wanted. "This is going to be a long story.". Genryu sighed as he looked at the group. He expected some of them to not know about this but he didn't expect such a reaction. Only Soun seemed to know and this didn't bode well. _They were the children of a martial artist for Kami's sake. They should know!_

"The Onyx Council is the highest authority of Martial arts in the world."

"WHAT?" the group exclaimed, shock evident on their faces.

"They invited Ranma?" Nabiki questioned.

"Ranma's going to join them?" Kasumi and Natsume asked simultaneously.

"Why didn't they invite me? I'm the best martial artist in Nerima.". At this, the entire room sweat dropped as they looked at Akane. "What? I could take Ranma anytime." she replied as if she was stating a fact. This caused the rest to look at her as if she was crazy. Nabiki decided she needed her sister to explain to her what was what. "Akane?"

"Yes Nabiki?"

"Why do you think you can take Ranma on anytime?"

"Well I admit he is better than most but he is still just a boy and I'm the best martial artist in Nerima so of course I can beat him.". Now most people would understand if Akane would be very jealous of Ranma's skills considering the fact that Ranma was the Grandmaster of his family school of martial arts as well as a master of his father's school of Anything Goes. However the people sitting in the dojo were incredibly surprised by the 'matter of fact' tone that Akane was using, and couldn't believe how ignorant she was of the skills Ranma actually possessed.

Nabiki however, was particularly happy with Akane's little outburst. Not only did Akane not realise that she insulted Ranma's skills and the strenuous training he undertook, but also how badly her misplaced pride and overconfidence had damaged her chances with Ranma. She had also unknowingly demonstrated a serious naiveté and almost Amazon attitude to men. _Ranma hates overconfident people and my lovely sister has just made my chances a bit easier. Thank you Akane!_

Deciding that the lesser of two evils, in this situation, would be to point out how her power truly stacks up, Genryu decided to inform Akane of how extreme her misgivings are with a leading question of the form "Akane, would you tell me something that could enable me to get a glimpse of your power levels and rate them?". Akane simply scoffed before cockily replying "Easy! I can break 9 bricks in one strike.". This impressed Genryu as it implied some form of Ki control. However Genryu knew that there were many kids half her age that could do far greater feats of strength than Akane, some without even drawing on their Ki like Akane probably did.

"Akane; is this the maximum you can break?" he asked politely, intending to make sure that she was giving an accurate measure of her power. "Well I am currently training to break ten but so far the maximum I can break is nine so yes."

"Well then I can honestly say that you are nowhere near Ranma's abilities." Genryu quickly stated employing the same 'matter of fact' tone that Akane had used earlier. "What do you mean I'm nowhere near his level?" Akane replied angrily, intending to argue her point. _I have beaten Kuno several times before and Kuno was a really good martial artist. Sure Ranma could beat Kuno but surely since we both could, we have to be of equal level. Right?_ "I'm …"

"Ranma can take down a building in a single punch from the roof if he used his full power and a master of the Onyx Council could probably level the entire ward.". This effectively shut everyone in the room up all for different reasons. Nabiki, Kasumi and Natsume all knew Ranma was powerful. Heck the guy could create towers of flames like it was nothing. However never had they expected this much power. The fact that someone that powerful existed scared them, especially if he got angry. Nabiki made a mental note, never to anger one Ranma Saotome ever again.

Ranma, on the other hand, was rather embarrassed by the fact that his grandfather had revealed the level of his strength to the girls. Sure he was a good martial artist but there were people of similar calibre, one of those being that #£$%^&*# Ryoga Hibiki. However the most stunned person was Akane. "Th-That's I-Im-Impossible. No one can be that strong.". Akane was about to continue but Genryu spoke up before she could. "Yes they can miss Tendo. I am quite disappointed at you right now. You are one of my grandson's potential fiancées but not only have you belittled his skills, but also displayed an attitude completely unbefitting of a martial artist."

This shut Akane up. Suddenly she realised the consequences of her words. She had constantly been trying to avoid situations like this all the time and the one time she didn't keep her tongue in check, she did so much damage that she might have permanently ruined any chances to have a relationship with Ranma. She could only pray to Kami-sama that he would show some mercy and Ranma would give her another chance. With that thought in mind; she bowed, tears falling as she spoke in a cracked voice. "I'm sorry Ranma. It was truly rude of me to underestimate your skills and act as I did in your presence. I only ask that you find it in your heart to forgive me of this transgression."

Ranma looked sympathetically before placing a hand on the crying girl's bowed head. "I forgive you.". Those three words brightened up Akane's day and she rushed forward to hug Ranma so hard that he was left thinking '_Since when did Akane know the Amazon glomp?'_.All trains of thought abruptly ended for the pigtailed martial artist though when Akane seized the opportunity and kissed Ranma thoroughly on the lips. When she let go, Ranma was trapped in a daze which caused Genryu and Natsume to laugh at their grandson's/friend's antics whilst Kasumi giggled a bit. "Oh how forward Akane." she teased, causing Akane to blush. The only person who wasn't laughing at this situation was Nabiki, whose mind was in overdrive. _I was supposed to be his first kiss. Me!_

Any thoughts of revenge were halted when Ranma gained control and asked a question that was so obviously unaddressed that Nabiki was a bit embarrassed that she hadn't even thought of it. "So what exactly is this invitation for?". Genryu smiled at this. His grandson may have been slow with girls but he could think #£$# well if the situation arose. "They want to invite you to try out to become an acolyte." Genryu stated.

"An acolyte?" the others chorused.

"Yes an acolyte. The Onyx Council consists of 5 masters, each of whom has 1 disciple. There are also a group of acolytes who train to become disciples. There are usually 95 acolytes in total. These Acolytes are expected to travel the world and train in the Art. If two of them meet, they are expected to fight each other to try and claim a higher rank among the acolytes."

"Rank?" Ranma questioned, since he hadn't heard a thing about ranks in what his grandfather was telling him.

"You see, each non-master in the Onyx council is given a coin with a number from 1-100 on it, which they are expected to keep safe under all conditions. The higher the number, the weaker you are in terms of skill. The top 5 ranks entitle you to become a disciple rather than an acolyte; however it is your choice as to whether or not you actually accept the title. Most usually become disciples and learn from a master. The master will train the disciples in techniques that he feels they are worthy of learning."

"So they're determining whether or not I'm ready to become an acolyte of the temple or not." Ranma asked, understanding dawning for all the members present. "Yes Ranma. They think you are good enough to become an acolyte. You are actually the youngest potential candidate they have ever selected. You don't know how proud that makes me!". Genryu was literally beaming as he said this, his dreams for his heir being fulfilled so early. _He is truly amazing. _

"B-But I'm nowhere near their abilities. How can they think I'm ready to be an acolyte?" Ranma stuttered out, his face flustered due to all the attention. Little did he know how cute the other girls thought he looked, both Nabiki and Akane planning to tease Ranma more if he acts like this. _It's soooo adorable! _they squealed mentally. Genryu just looked pleased at the reaction. _Modest as well! He truly is nothing like Genma, that useless tub of lard. _"Ranma, you have mastered the Neko-ken. This in itself is an amazing feat. Without it, you are still one of the best martial artists of your generation. Is that not true?"

Ranma blushed at this praise and nodded in reply. He never really learnt how to handle compliments considering that his father never gave them to him. Of course he was quite confident of his skills but then again, with the Iron Fist, who wouldn't be? Genryu, oblivious to this, simply pressed on. "Well; the council believe that since you are a master of an ultimate technique, you are definitely capable of becoming a member."

"Ultimate technique?" Akane questioned. She was still a little disappointed that Ranma was so much more powerful than her, and was trying to figure out how to improve. The idea of an ultimate technique was too good to pass up in her eyes. "Yes, the Neko-ken is an ultimate technique. A truly amazing ability that can increase your strength, speed and agility to almost seven times greater than your natural abilities. Dangerous though! In fact I think it is one of the reasons for which they are considering you for. There hasn't been another Neko-ken master amongst the Onyx council since I was a member."

"Wait you were a member? But how, I'm stronger than you? If you could level the ward, then how come I a stronger than you are?" Ranma asked, shocked at the revelation that his grandfather was lying to him about his abilities. He always thought that his grandfather was level with him about his strength and speed, but now he was wondering whether or not his skills were actually as high as Genryu told him, or whether or not he was holding back.

Genryu noticed this and decided to explain. "Ranma; it's not that I am stronger than you. On the contrary, you are physically stronger than I am. It's just that I possess techniques of far greater power than you do, the Iron fist being just one of the techniques I possess. The masters of the Onyx Council are keepers of several techniques so powerful that they should never be taught to those unworthy for the preservation of human life. It is their sole reason for existence. I was once a guardian and master of this knowledge, and now they want to see whether you may possess them."

A moment of silence ensued as the rest of the members digested this nugget of information. A few minutes of uncomfortable silence later, "What must I do?". Ranma was quivering with barely restrained excitement. Never had he been given such a big chance to become stronger, and the thrill of a challenge was calling to him so much that he was literally aching. He wanted to become the best. It was a dream beaten into him due to hours of training under Genma and that dream was something that drove him. "What must I do to become an acolyte?"

"You have to beat one of the acolytes in a duel and take their rank."


End file.
